| | Payroll legislation for the 2026/2027 tax year |
| Description | Select any of the options below to find out about the legislation values for the 2026/2027 tax year. Unless stated otherwise, the rates are applicable from 6 April 2026. NOTE: Some legislation below is pending final confirmation. We'll update this article with further information as it becomes available. ▼ National minimum/living wage rates The following rates are effective from 1 April 2026. | Age | Hourly Rate | | 21 and older | £12.71 | | 18 - 20 | £10.85 | | 16 - 17 | £8.00 | | Apprenticeship* | £8.00 | * This rate applies to apprentices aged under 19, or apprentices in their first year of the apprenticeship while age 19 or above. Other apprentices are due the minimum wage for their age group as per the table above.
▼ PAYE Tax codes The emergency tax code for the 2026/2027 tax year remains at 1257L, and there are no automatic uplifts in tax codes. The tables below show the bandwidths for the rest of the UK, Scotland and Wales. Rest of UK Bandwidths and Rates | From | To | Rate | Band | | £0.01 | £37,700.00 | 20.00% | Basic rate | | £37,700.01 | £125,140.00 | 40.00% | Higher rate | | £125,140.01 | excess | 45.00% | Additional rate | Scottish Bandwidths and Rates | From | To | Rate | Band | | £0.01 | £3,967.00 | 19.00% | Starter rate | | £3,967.01 | £16,956.00 | 20.00% | Basic rate | | £16,956.01 | £31,092.00 | 21.00% | Intermediate rate | | £31,092.01 | £62,430.00 | 42.00% | Higher rate | | £62,430.01 | £125,140.00 | 45.00% | Advanced rate | | £125,140.01 | excess | 48.00% | Top rate | Welsh Bandwidths and Rates | From | To | Rate | Band | | £0.01 | £37,700.00 | 20.00% | Basic rate | | £37,700.01 | £125,140.00 | 40.00% | Higher rate | | £125,140.01 | excess | 45.00% | Additional rate | Tax relief for childcare | | Basic Rate | High Rate | Higher Rate | | Weekly | £55.00 | £28.00 | £25.00 | | Monthly | £243.00 | £124.00 | £110.00 | | Annually | £2,915.00 | £1,484.00 | £1,325.00 | ▼ National Insurance (NI) Earnings bands | | Weekly | Monthly | Yearly | | Secondary Threshold (ST) | £96.00 | £417.00 | £5,000.00 | | Lower Earnings Limit (LEL) | £129.00 | £559.00 | £6,708.00 | | Primary Threshold (PT) | £242.00 | £1,048.00 | £12,570.00 | | Freeport/Investment Zone Upper Secondary Threshold (FUST) | £481.00 | £2,083.00 | £25,000.00 | | Upper Earnings Limit (UEL) | £967.00 | £4,189.00 | £50,270.00 | | Upper Secondary Threshold (UST) | £967.00 | £4,189.00 | £50,270.00 | | Apprentice Upper Secondary Threshold (AUST) | £967.00 | £4,189.00 | £50,270.00 | | Veterans Upper Secondary Threshold (VUST) | £967.00 | £4,189.00 | £50,270.00 | NI Category A Rates Employee rates: | | Employee contribution rate | Director rate | | Below LEL | 0.00% | 0.00% | | LEL to PT | 0.00% | 0.00% | | PT to UEL | 8.00% | 8.00% | | Above UEL | 2.00% | 2.00% | Employer rates: NOTE: The employer contribution rates are the same whether the earnings belong to an employee or a director. | | Employer contribution rate | | Below ST | 0.00% | | ST to LEL | 15.00% | | LEL to FUST/IZUST | 15.00% | | FUST/IZUST to UST/AUST/VIST | 15.00% | | Above UST/AUST/VUST | 15.00% | Directors Annual Primary Threshold The pro-rated Primary Threshold for the Director annual NI calculation is £12,570. Class 1A NI rates For termination payments, the Class 1A rate is 15.0% from 6 April 2026. For benefits in kind, the class 1A NI rate is also 15.0%.
▼ Statutory payments Statutory sick pay From 6 April 2026, statutory sick pay (SSP) is changing. Employees receive the lower of the statutory weekly sick pay rate of £123.25 or 80% of their average weekly earnings. Waiting days no longer apply and employees have a right to SSP from the first day of their employment. You can calculate the daily rate of SSP using the steps below. - Establish the employee's average weekly pay.
- Compare the average weekly pay to the weekly SSP rate of £123.25, and note the lower value as value A.
- Note the number of qualifying days the employee works per week, and note this value as B.
- Divide value A by value B, and shorten it without rounding to four decimal places. Note this as value C.
- Multiply C by the number of days due, rounded up to two decimal places.
Alternatively, see the table beneath for daily rates based on the full weekly SSP rate of £123.25. | Unrounded daily rates | Number of working days in a week | 1 day to pay | 2 days to pay | 3 days to pay | 4 days to pay | 5 days to pay | 6 days to pay | 7 days to pay | | £17.6071 | 7 | £17.61 | £35.22 | £52.83 | £70.43 | £88.04 | £105.65 | £123.25 | | £20.5416 | 6 | £20.55 | £41.09 | £61.63 | £82.17 | £102.71 | £123.25 | | | £24.6500 | 5 | £24.65 | £49.30 | £73.95 | £98.60 | £123.25 | | | | £30.8125 | 4 | £30.82 | £61.63 | £92.44 | £123.25 | | | | | £41.0833 | 3 | £41.09 | £82.17 | £123.25 | | | | | | £61.6250 | 2 | £61.63 | £123.25 | | | | | | | £123.2500 | 1 | £123.25 | | | | | | | Parental pay The rates below come into effect from the first Sunday in April, which is 5 April 2026. | Payment | Higher rate | The standard rate is the lesser of: | or, | Weeks at higher rate | Weeks at Standard rate | | Statutory Maternity Pay | 90.00% | £194.32 | 90.00% | 6 | 33 | | Statutory Adoption Pay | 90.00% | £194.32 | 90.00% | 6 | 33 | | Statutory Paternity Pay | N/A | £194.32 | 90.00% | N/A | 2 | | Shared Parental Pay | N/A | £194.32 | 90.00% | N/A | 37 | | Parental Bereavement | N/A | £194.32 | 90.00% | N/A | 2 | | Neonatal Care | N/A | £194.32 | 90.00% | N/A | 12 |
▼ Automatic enrolment Auto enrolment thresholds are unchanged for the 2026/2027 tax year. | Pay reference period | Lower level of qualifying earnings | Earnings trigger for automatic enrolment | Qualifying Earnings upper limit | | 1 Week | £120.00 | £192.00 | £967.00 | | Fortnight | £240.00 | £384.00 | £1,934.00 | | 4 weeks | £480.00 | £768.00 | £3,867.00 | | 1 month | £520.00 | £833.00 | £4,189.00 | | Annual | £6,240.00 | £10,000.00 | £50,270.00 | Contribution rates The minimum Employer contribution remains at 3%. The total minimum contribution remains at 8%.
▼ Student loans A new plan type, number 5, is available from 6 April 2026. When you set up a student loan deduction for an employee, you must specify whether they're on Plan 1, 2, 4 or 5. The deduction rate percentages are unchanged, but the thresholds they apply from have changed for the 2026/2027 tax year. | Type | Weekly | Monthly | Annual | Rate | | Plan Type 1 | £517.30 | £2,241.66 | £26,900.00 | 9.00% | | Plan Type 2 | £565.09 | £2,448.75 | £29,385.00 | 9.00% | | Plan Type 4 | £649.90 | £2,816.25 | £33,795.00 | 9.00% | | Plan Type 5 | £480.76 | £2,083.33 | £25,000.00 | 9.00% |
▼ Postgraduate loans There's no change to postgraduate loans for the 2026/2027 tax year. | Weekly | Monthly | Annual | Rate | | £403.84 | £1,750.00 | £21,000.00 | 6.00% |
▼ Employment allowance For the 2026/2027 tax year, the employment allowance remains at £10,500. Employment allowance no longer counts as 'de minimis state aid'. This means HMRC don't require the information from the state aid options within the Employer Allowance application submission.
▼ Small Employers' Relief (SER) The SER compensation rate is increasing from 8.5% to 9%. This means eligible employers will be able to reclaim 109% of statutory parental payments in the 2026/2027 tax year.
Where attachments of earnings orders use rates to calculate deductions, your software includes these rates and applies them automatically. There are no changes to the existing AEO rates. |
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