Understand UK tax — plain-English guides.
No jargon, no marketing — just clear explanations of how UK tax actually works, with every rate and threshold cited to gov.uk.
Start hereUK tax bands for 2025/26: rates and thresholds explained
The rates and thresholds that decide how much income tax you pay — for England, Wales and Northern Ireland, and all six Scottish bands — with the personal allowance, the £100,000 taper and the threshold freeze explained in plain English.
Read the guideAll guides
The 60% tax trap
Why £100k–£125,140 is taxed at 60%, and how to buy your allowance back.
Read the guideHow income tax is calculated
The band-by-band arithmetic, worked through step by step on a real salary.
Read the guideScottish tax bands
All six Scottish rates for 2025/26, and the England-vs-Scotland difference in pounds.
Read the guideNational Insurance
Class 1, 2 and 4 explained — rates, thresholds, and the State Pension link.
Read the guidePersonal allowance
The £12,570 you can earn tax-free — and the ways it goes up or down.
Read the guideStudent loans
All five plans, thresholds, the write-off, and whether to overpay.
Read the guideHow PAYE works
Tax codes, cumulative calculation, and the P45/P60/P11D forms — demystified.
Read the guideSalary sacrifice
Pensions, EVs and cycle-to-work — the savings and the honest trade-offs.
Read the guideMarriage allowance
Transfer £1257 of allowance — up to £251 a year, backdatable four years.
Read the guideHow we calculate
Every formula and every source — plus an honest list of what we don't handle.
Read the guideSources
Every gov.uk page behind our figures, organised by topic.
Read the guidePrefer to just get a number?
Every guide links to the calculator it explains. Or jump straight in: