Personal Income Tax Rates and Bands 2023/24
| Income tax rates: | 2023/24 | 2022/23 |
| 0% starting rate for savings only | Up to £5,000 | Up to £5,000 |
| 20% basic rate tax | £12,571-£50,270 | £12,571- £50,270 |
| 40% higher rate tax | £50,271-£125.140 | £50,271- £150,000 |
| 45% additional rate tax | Above £125,140 | Above £150,000 |
| Income tax rates (dividend income) | 2023/24 | 2022/23 |
| Dividend allowance (note 1) | £1,000 | £2,000 |
| Dividend ordinary rate (for dividends within basic rate band) | 8.75% | 8.75% |
| Dividend upper rate (for dividends within higher rate band) | 33.75% | 33.75% |
| Dividend additional rate (for dividends above higher rate band) | 39.35% | 39.35% |
Note 1: The dividend allowance will be reduced to £500 from April 2024.
| Child benefit/guardian’s allowance rates (note 2) | 2023/24 | 2022/23 |
| Higher rate (eldest or only child) (per week) | £24.00 | £21.15 |
| Other children | £15.90 | £14.00 |
| Guardian’s allowance per week | £20.40 | £18.00 |
Note 2: an income tax charge will apply to taxpayers with ‘adjusted net income’ exceeding £50,000 in a tax year, when child benefit is also received by them or their partner. The charge will reduce the financial benefit of receiving child benefit for those with income between £50,000 and £60,000. The benefit will be removed completely for taxpayers with income above £60,000.
| Personal allowances | 2023/24 | 2022/23 |
| Personal allowance | £12,570 | £12,570 |
| Dividend allowance | £1,000 | £2,000 |
| Maximum married couple’s allowance for those born before 6 April 1935 (note 3) | £10,375 | £9,415 |
| Married couple’s allowance – minimum amount | £4,010 | £3,640 |
| Micro entrepreneur’s allowance (property or trading income) | £1,000 each | £1,000 each |
| Income limit for personal allowance (note 4) | £100,000 | £100,000 |
| Income limit for married couple’s allowance: born before 6 April 1935 | £34,600 | £31,400 |
| Blind person’s allowance | £2,870 | £2,600 |
| Rent-a-room relief | £7,500 | £7,500 |
| Transferable/shareable tax allowance for married couples and civil partners (note 5) | £1,260 | £1,260 |
| Personal savings allowance for basic rate taxpayers | £1,000 | £1,000 |
| Personal savings allowance for higher rate taxpayers | £500 | £500 |
| Personal savings allowance for additional rate taxpayers | £0 | £0 |
Note 3: this allowance is reduced by £1 for every £2 of income in excess of the income limit, but married couple’s allowance will not reduce below £4,010.
Note 4: personal allowances are subject to the £100,000 income limit, which applies regardless of the individual’s date of birth. The individual’s personal allowance is reduced where their income is above this limit. The allowance is reduced by £1 for every £2 above the limit, down to zero.
Note 5: this allowance is available to married couples and civil partners who are not in receipt of married couple’s allowance. A spouse or civil partner who is not liable to income tax, or not liable at the higher or additional rates, can transfer this amount of their unused personal allowance to their spouse or civil partner. The recipient must not be liable to income tax at the higher or additional rates.
If the couple marry or register a civil partnership, they will get the allowance on a pro-rata basis for the rest of that tax year. If one of them dies or there is a divorce or separation, the allowance continues until the end of the tax year.
| National insurance | 2023/24 | 2022/23 |
| Lower earnings limit, primary class 1 (per week) (note 6) | £123 | £123 |
| Upper earnings limit, primary class 1 (per week) | £967 | £967 |
| Apprentice upper secondary threshold (AUST) for under 21s/25s | £967 | £967 |
| Primary threshold (per week) From 6 April 2022 to 5 July 2022 From 6 July 2022 to 5 April 2023 | £242 | £190 £242 |
| Secondary threshold (per week) | £175 | £175 |
| Employment allowance (per year/employer) | £5,000 | £5,000 |
| Employee’s primary class 1 rate between primary threshold and upper earnings limit (note 6) From 6 April 2022 to 5 November 2022 From 6 November 2022 to 5 April 2023 | 12% | 13.25% 12% |
| Employee’s primary class 1 rate above upper earnings limit From 6 April 2022 to 5 November 2022 From 6 November 2022 to 5 April 2023 | 2% | 3.25% 2% |
| Married woman’s reduced rate between primary threshold and upper earnings limit From 6 April 2022 to 5 November 2022 From 6 November 2022 to 5 April 2023 | 5.85% | 7.1% 5.85% |
| Married woman’s rate above upper earnings limit From 6 April 2022 to 5 November 2022 From 6 November 2022 to 5 April 2023 | 2% | 3.25% 2% |
| Class 2 rate (per week where profits are above lower profits limit threshold | £3.45 | £3.15 |
| 2023/24 | 2022/23 | |
| Employer's secondary class 1 rate above secondary threshold (note 9) From 6 April 2022 to 5 November 2022 From 6 November 2022 to 5 April 2023 | 13.8% | 15.05% 13.8% |
| Class 2 small profits threshold (per year) | £6,725 | £6,725 |
| Class 3 voluntary rate (per week) | £17.45 | £15.85 |
| Class 4 lower profits limit | £12,570 | £11,908 |
| Class 4 upper profits limit | £50,270 | £50,270 |
| Class 4 rate between lower profits limit and upper profits limit | 9% | 9.73% |
| Class 4 rate above upper profits limit | 2% | 2.73% |
| Class 1A/1B NIC | 13.8% | 14.53% |
Note 6 The national insurance thresholds for all classes will be maintained until April 2028 at the current level. The government will fix the level at which employers start to pay Class 1 Secondary NICs for their employees (the Secondary Threshold) at £9,100 from April 2023 until April 2028.
| Pensions | 2023/24 | 2022/23 |
| Annual allowance (note 7) | £60,000 | £40,000 |
| Lifetime allowance (note 8) | £1,073,100 | £1,073,100 |
| Money purchase annual allowance (note 9) | £10,000 | £4,000 |
Note 7: the annual allowance is a limit to the total amount of contributions that can be paid to a defined contribution pension scheme and the total amount of benefits that you can build up in a defined benefit pension scheme each year, for tax relief purposes. The annual allowance is increased from £40,000 to £60,000 from April 2023
Since 6 April 2016, individuals with a high income have had a tapered annual allowance, where for every £2 of adjusted income over a threshold, an individual’s annual allowance is reduced by £1. From 6 April 2020, the tapered annual allowance applies for individuals with ‘threshold income’ of over £200,000, and ‘adjusted income’ of over £240,000. From April 2023, the annual allowance will be £10,000 (increased from £4,000) for individuals with total adjusted income (including pension accrual) over £312,000.
Note 8: The Lifetime Allowance is taxed at 0%.
Note 9: Money purchase annual allowance is increased from £4,000 to £10,000 which applies if you have already started drawing a pension.
| Reliefs and incentives | 2023/24 | 2022/23 |
| Enterprise Investment Scheme (EIS) – maximum (note 10) | £1,000,000 | £1,000,000 |
| Venture Capital Trust (VCT) – maximum | £200,000 | £200,000 |
Note 10: from 6 April 2018, the annual limit is doubled to £2m, provided that any amount over £1m is invested in one or more knowledge-intensive companies.
| Reliefs and incentives | 2023/24 | 2022/23 |
| Seed Enterprise Investment Scheme (SEIS) – maximum (note 11) | £200,000 | £100,000 |
| Enterprise Management Incentive Scheme (EMI) – employee limit up to the value of £250,000 in a three-year period | £250,000 | £250,000 |
| Social Investment Tax Relief (SITR) – maximum | n/a | £1,000,000 |
| Income tax relief on EIS schemes | 30% | 30% |
| Income tax relief on VCT schemes | 30% | 30% |
| Income tax relief on SEIS schemes | 50% | 50% |
| Income tax relief on SITR schemes (relief expires on 5 April 2023) | n/a | 30% |
Note 11: capital gains tax reinvestment relief may also be available for investments made up to 50% of the amount invested.
| Individual Savings Account (ISA) | 2023/24 | 2022/23 |
| ISA (NISA) annual limit | £20,000 | £20,000 |
| Junior ISA investment annual limit – under 18, living in the UK | £9,000 | £9,000 |
| Child Trust Fund annual limit | £9,000 | £9,000 |
| Lifetime ISA annual limit (note 12) | £4,000 | £4,000 |
Note 12: to open a Lifetime ISA, you must be 18 or over but under 40. Contributions can be made until the age of 50. The government will add a 25% bonus to the savings, up to a maximum of £1,000 per year. The lifetime ISA limit of £4,000 counts towards the annual ISA limit.
| Capital gains tax | 2023/24 | 2022/23 |
| Basic rate tax payer | 10% | 10% |
| Higher rate tax payer | 20% | 20% |
| Rate on sale of residential property – basic rate tax payer | 18% | 18% |
| Rate on sale of residential property – higher rate tax payer | 28% | 28% |
| Annual exemption – individuals/trusts for disabled persons (note 13) | £6,000 | £12,300 |
| Annual exemption – other trusts | £3,000 | £6,150 |
| Business Assets Disposal Relief lifetime limit (note 14) | £1,000,000 | £1,000,000 |
| Investors’ Relief lifetime limit | £10,000,000 | £10,000,000 |
Note 13: The annual exemption amount for capital gains tax for individuals will change to £3,000 from April 2024.
Note 14: Business Assets Disposal Relief (formerly Entrepreneurs’ Relief) lifetime limit was reduced from £10m to £1m for disposals made on or after 11 March 2020.
| Capital gains tax | 2023/24 | 2022/23 |
| Business Assets Disposal Relief / Investors’ rate | 10% | 10% |
| Chattels exemption | £6,000 | £6,000 |
| Inheritance tax | 2023/24 | 2022/23 |
| Single person’s nil-rate band | £325,000 | £325,000 |
| Single person’s 40% band | over £325,000 | over £325,000 |
| Residence nil-rate band (RNRB) – maximum (note 15) | £175,000 | £175,000 |
| Reduced rate (note 16) | 36% | 36% |
| IHT rate (for chargeable lifetime transfers) | 20% | 20% |
| Married couples or civil partnerships allowance nil-rate band | £650,000 | £650,000 |
| Gifts to charities | Exempt | Exempt |
| Small gifts to same person | £250 | £250 |
| General gifts – annual exemption | £3,000 | £3,000 |
| Wedding gifts to children | £5,000 | £5,000 |
| Wedding gifts to grandchildren | £2,500 | £2,500 |
| Wedding gifts to any other person | £1,000 | £1,000 |
Note 15: the RNRB is available in respect of a main residence given away to children (including adopted, foster or stepchildren). Any unused nil-rate band transfers to the deceased’s spouse or civil partner, even where death predates the availability of the additional threshold. It applies in addition to the existing nil-rate band (NRB) or threshold (currently £325,000) if the individual and estate meet the qualifying conditions. Inheritance tax nil-rate band and residence nil-rate band – thresholds are maintained at the current level until April 2028.
Note 16: the estate can pay inheritance tax at a reduced rate of 36% on some assets if you leave 10% or more of the net value to charity in your will.
| Business property relief | 2023/24 | 2022/23 |
| Business or interest in a business and transfers of unquoted shareholdings | 100% | 100% |
| Taxation of trusts | 2023/24 | 2022/23 |
| Accumulation or discretionary trusts: | ||
| Trust income up to £1,000 – dividend type income (note 17) | 8.75% | 8.75% |
| Taxation of trusts | 2023/24 | 2022/23 |
| Trust income up to £1,000 – all other income | 20% | 20% |
| Trust income over £1,000 – dividend type income (note 17) | 39.35% | 39.35% |
| Trust income over £1,000 – all other income | 45% | 45% |
| Interest in possession trusts: | ||
| Dividend-type income | 8.75% | 8.75% |
| All other income | 20% | 20% |
Note 17: trustees do not qualify for the dividend allowance. This means trustees pay tax on all dividends depending on the tax band they fall within.
ACCA LEGAL NOTICE - This is a basic guide prepared by ACCA UK's Technical Advisory Service for members and their clients. It should not be used as a definitive guide, since individual circumstances may vary. Specific advice should be obtained, where necessary.