Tax Year Comparison Calculator
Our tax year comparison calculator shows how your income tax and National Insurance deductions have changed between consecutive tax years — helping you understand why your take-home pay has moved even when your salary has not. Frozen thresholds, NI rate changes, and band adjustments can all affect your monthly net pay without any change to your gross earnings.
Tax Year Comparison Calculator
Compare your income tax and NI between two tax years side by side.
Results compare the selected earlier tax year against the current 2026/27 rates using published HMRC thresholds. Scottish income tax rates set by the Scottish Parliament differ from the rest of the UK.
What Has Changed Between 2025/26 and 2026/27?
The government has maintained the freeze on income tax thresholds first introduced in 2022, extending it through to April 2028. The Personal Allowance remains at £12,570 and the higher rate threshold remains at £50,270. Because wages typically rise with inflation, frozen thresholds cause a process known as fiscal drag — more taxpayers are pulled into higher bands, and those already there pay more tax in real terms, even on a real pay increase of zero.
The National Insurance rates themselves are unchanged in 2026/27 — employees continue to pay 8% on earnings between £12,570 and £50,270 and 2% above. However, the interaction with wage growth means most workers are paying more NI in absolute terms than in previous years, simply because their earnings have risen.
The Effect of Fiscal Drag
Consider someone earning £45,000 in 2022/23 who has received annual pay rises of 5%. By 2026/27 their salary is approximately £54,700 — well into the higher rate band. In 2022/23, their entire income was taxed at 20% above the Personal Allowance. By 2026/27, over £4,000 of their income is taxed at 40%. The frozen threshold has cost this worker several thousand pounds in additional tax over the period, without any policy announcement specifically targeting them.
Frequently Asked Questions
Yes — the Personal Allowance rose steadily from £6,475 in 2010/11 to its current level of £12,570, reached in 2021/22. It has been frozen at this level ever since and is currently scheduled to remain frozen until April 2028, after which it is expected to rise with inflation.
Scotland has six income tax bands set by the Scottish Parliament, with a 19% starter rate, 20% basic rate, 21% intermediate rate, 42% higher rate, 45% advanced rate, and 48% top rate. Scottish taxpayers on salaries above approximately £27,000 pay more income tax than equivalent earners in England, Wales, and Northern Ireland.
Enter your salary in both the previous year and current year fields of this calculator. The tool applies the correct rates and thresholds for each year and shows the difference in monthly net pay. Use our Take-Home Pay Calculator for a detailed current-year breakdown.
The government has stated that thresholds will rise with inflation from April 2028, but this is a policy commitment rather than legislation and could change. If thresholds are restored to their 2022 real values, a significant tax cut for most workers would result.
Student loan thresholds are typically uprated annually (except Plan 2, which is frozen until April 2030). As your salary rises above the threshold, repayments increase proportionally. Our Student Loan Calculator shows repayments at any salary level for all plans.
Enter your salary and select the earlier tax year to compare against 2026/27. The calculator shows income tax, National Insurance, and take-home side by side for both years. This is particularly useful for understanding fiscal drag — the phenomenon where frozen thresholds cause effective tax rates to rise even without rate increases. If your gross salary has risen with inflation but thresholds have stayed static, you pay a higher proportion in tax each year. The Scotland option applies the correct Scottish rates for whichever region you select for each year. Use the results to contextualise pay negotiations: if your gross pay rose 5% but take-home rose only 3%, the difference reflects increased deductions from fiscal drag rather than payroll errors.
Important Information
This calculator is provided for general information and planning purposes only. It does not constitute financial or tax advice and should not be relied upon as such. Figures are indicative estimates based on simplified, publicly available criteria and stated assumptions. Actual results depend on your full circumstances. See our Disclaimer for further information.