Income tax if you work in Northern Ireland

You pay the same income tax in Northern Ireland as in England. For 2026/27 the personal allowance is £12,570, and income above that is taxed at 20% up to £50,270, 40% up to £125,140 and 45% above. Your tax code is the standard one, usually 1257L, with no letter in front of it.

The rates and bands for 2026/27

These apply from 6 April 2026 to 5 April 2027 on earnings from a job.

Band	Taxable income	Rate
Personal allowance	Up to £12,570	0%
Basic rate	£12,571 to £50,270	20%
Higher rate	£50,271 to £125,140	40%
Additional rate	Over £125,140	45%

The personal allowance falls by £1 for every £2 of income over £100,000, so it is gone by £125,140. The £100,000 tax trap guide explains the effect. The personal allowance, the basic rate limit of £37,700 and the higher rate threshold of £50,270 are frozen until 5 April 2031.

Scotland has its own bands and rates, which is why gov.uk has a separate page for them. Welsh rates are set at the same level as England’s for 2026/27. Northern Ireland has no devolved income tax, so there is no local rate.

What your tax code looks like

Gov.uk lists only two prefix letters for devolved income tax: S for Scottish rates and C for Welsh rates. If you live and work in Northern Ireland you will not see either. A typical code is 1257L, which means the standard £12,570 allowance. Other codes work the same way as in the rest of the UK: BR taxes all pay at 20%, 0T gives no allowance, and a K code means untaxed income or benefits exceed your allowance. See tax codes explained.

An emergency code, such as 1257L W1 or M1, is a temporary arrangement that tax is worked out on each pay period alone. It tends to appear when you start a new job, including a public sector one, without a P45. The emergency tax codes guide covers what to do if you are on one.

National Insurance

National Insurance is a UK-wide system. For employees in category A, 2026/27 rates are 0% between £129 and £242 a week, 8% from £242 up to £967 a week, and 2% above £967. In annual terms that is 8% between £12,570 and £50,270, and 2% over that. Employees do not pay it above State Pension age. The rest is in the National Insurance guide.

A worked example

Say you earn £35,000 a year in a Northern Ireland public sector job and have no other income or deductions. Taxable income is £35,000 minus the £12,570 allowance, which is £22,430. At 20% that is £4,486 a year in income tax. National Insurance at 8% on the same £22,430 is £1,794. Pension contributions, student loan repayments and any salary sacrifice come on top of that, and the figure that reaches your bank is lower again. The take-home pay calculator does the sums for you for any salary.

Student loans in Northern Ireland

People who took a loan through Student Finance Northern Ireland are on Plan 1, whether they studied an undergraduate or a postgraduate course. Plan 1 repayments are 9% of income above £26,900 a year. The Plan 1 repayments guide has the detail.

Working across a border

If you live in Northern Ireland and work in Great Britain, or the reverse, the UK rules still apply, though if you move to or from Scotland your tax code changes, as moving to or from Scotland explains.

Living in the Republic of Ireland and working in Northern Ireland, or the reverse, is a separate matter. Which country taxes you depends on your residence and where the work is done, and you may have to deal with both HMRC and the Irish Revenue Commissioners. General tax pages cannot settle that for you, but HMRC or a tax adviser can, and the cross-border workers guide covers the working side.