UK tax allowances for 2026/27 at a glance

For 2026/27 the main allowance is the £12,570 Personal Allowance, which most employees use up through their pay. Other allowances sit on top of it: a £1,000 Personal Savings Allowance for basic rate taxpayers, a £500 dividend allowance, and £1,000 each for trading and property income. This page lists them with the conditions that matter.

Allowances for 2026/27

Allowance	2026/27 amount	Who it helps
Personal Allowance	£12,570	Nearly all taxpayers
Blind Person’s Allowance	£3,250 extra	People who qualify under the rules
Marriage Allowance	£1,260 transferred, saves up to £252	Couples where one partner has a low income
Starting rate for savings	Up to £5,000 of interest	People whose other taxable income is under £17,570
Personal Savings Allowance	£1,000 basic, £500 higher, £0 additional	Savers
Dividend allowance	£500	Shareholders
Trading allowance	£1,000	Side income
Property allowance	£1,000	Rental income

The Personal Allowance

You do not pay tax on the first £12,570 of income. It falls by £1 for every £2 of adjusted net income above £100,000 and is gone at £125,140. It is also frozen at £12,570 until 5 April 2031. The personal allowance explained covers how payroll applies it, and the £100,000 tax trap shows what the taper does to your take-home.

Marriage Allowance and Blind Person’s Allowance

Marriage Allowance lets you transfer £1,260 of your Personal Allowance to a husband, wife or civil partner. It cuts their tax by up to £252. To benefit as a couple, you as the lower earner must normally have an income below your Personal Allowance, usually £12,570. The recipient is a basic rate taxpayer. See Marriage Allowance.

Blind Person’s Allowance is an extra tax-free amount added to your Personal Allowance, so you can earn more before you start paying tax. The amount for 2026/27 is £3,250. Blind Person’s Allowance has the rules.

Savings and dividends

Interest on savings uses three layers. Any unused Personal Allowance can be applied to interest. The starting rate for savings lets you earn up to £5,000 of interest tax-free if your other taxable income, not counting savings or dividends, is under £17,570, and every £1 of other income above your Personal Allowance reduces it by £1. On top of that, the Personal Savings Allowance is £1,000 for a basic rate taxpayer, £500 for a higher rate taxpayer and nothing for an additional rate taxpayer. Tax on savings interest works through the numbers.

Dividends are taxed after a £500 allowance. Above it the rates for 2026/27 are 10.75% for basic rate, 35.75% for higher rate and 39.35% for additional rate taxpayers. Shares held in an ISA are not taxed. Employees who own shares are covered in dividend tax for employees.

Trading and property allowances

GOV.UK says you do not pay tax on the first £1,000 of income from self-employment (the trading allowance) or the first £1,000 of income from property you rent, unless you use the Rent a Room Scheme. Check the eligibility rules on GOV.UK before relying on either. Whether you need to file a return for side income is in Self Assessment for employees.

Two examples from GOV.UK

On savings, GOV.UK takes someone on £16,000 of wages with £200 of interest. The wages use the Personal Allowance, and the remaining £3,430 reduces the £5,000 starting rate to £1,570. The £200 of interest is therefore tax-free.

On Marriage Allowance, one partner has income of £11,500 and the other £20,000. After the transfer of £1,260, the couple pay tax on £6,360 between them instead of £7,430, which saves £214 in tax for the year.

Married Couple’s Allowance

If you do not claim Marriage Allowance and you or your partner were born before 6 April 1935, you may be able to claim Married Couple’s Allowance. The maximum for 2026/27 is £11,700.

Claiming and checking

The Personal Allowance and Marriage Allowance show up in your tax code. Your personal tax account shows what HMRC currently holds, and how to check your tax code shows where a change should appear. Tax reliefs such as pension contributions and charity gifts are separate from allowances and are in pension tax relief.