What is the personal allowance, and is it frozen?

The personal allowance is the amount of income you can receive each tax year without paying income tax. For 2026-27 (6 April 2026 to 5 April 2027) the standard allowance is £12,570, according to GOV.UK. It is reduced by £1 for every £2 of adjusted net income over £100,000, so it disappears entirely at £125,140.

The allowance has been £12,570 since 2021-22. HMRC's income tax statistics, published 15 July 2026, state that it is set at that level through to 2030-31 after the freeze was extended at the Autumn Budget 2025. The personal allowance is the same across the UK, including Scotland.

Because the allowance is not rising with prices, more people pay tax as wages grow. See what fiscal drag means for the OBR's estimate of the effect.

Official sources: GOV.UK: Income Tax rates and Personal Allowances · HMRC: Income Tax liabilities statistics

Terms used in this answer

• Fiscal drag
  The rise in tax paid when tax thresholds are frozen or rise more slowly than incomes, pulling more income and more people into tax or into higher bands.
• Tax year
  The UK personal tax year runs from 6 April to 5 April the following year. It differs from the government's financial year, which runs from 1 April.

Related questions

• What are the income tax bands in England, Wales and Northern Ireland?
• What is fiscal drag, and how much does the tax threshold freeze raise?
• How many people pay higher-rate tax in the UK?

This answer says where the official figures are published and how they are defined. It gives no verdict on any claim. To report an error, send a correction request. More questions about tax rates, allowances and household bills: all Tax rates, allowances and household bills questions.