Guide
The 60% tax trap, explained
Between £100,000 and £125,140 of income, the UK tax system quietly charges its highest marginal rate - higher than the additional rate paid by someone on £200,000. Here is why it happens and what you can legitimately do about it in 2026/27.
Why the trap exists
Once your adjusted net income passes £100,000, your £12,570 personal allowance is withdrawn at £1 for every £2 above the threshold. By £125,140 it is gone entirely. That withdrawal means every £100 you earn in this band costs you £40 in higher-rate tax on the £100 itself, plus £20 more tax because £50 of previously tax-free allowance just became taxable at 40%. Total: £60 of tax on £100 of income - a 60% marginal rate, or 62% once 2% National Insurance is included.
In Scotland the same withdrawal interacts with the 45% advanced rate, pushing the marginal rate in this band to roughly 69.5% - the highest in the UK.
What it costs you
The full taper, from £100,000 to £125,140, converts £25,140 of income into just £9,553 of take-home pay in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. A £5,000 pay rise from £105,000 to £110,000 delivers only £1,900 to your bank account.
How to escape: pension contributions
Adjusted net income is calculated after pension contributions, so contributing enough to bring it below £100,000 restores your full allowance. The effective relief on those contributions is around 60% - the cheapest pension saving available anywhere in the UK system. Salary sacrifice does this automatically through payroll and saves National Insurance too. Relief-at-source contributions also work: the grossed-up amount reduces adjusted net income even though your payslip deductions look unchanged.
Earning £110,000? Contributing £10,000 into your pension costs you roughly £4,000 in net take-home but adds the full £10,000 to your retirement pot and restores £5,000 of tax-free allowance.
The childcare cliff makes it worse
Crossing £100,000 of adjusted net income also ends eligibility for Tax-Free Childcare and, in England, the funded childcare hours for working parents - a cliff edge that can be worth thousands per child per year on top of the 60% rate. For parents in this band, pension contributions below £100,000 often beat any pay rise.
See your own numbers
Our take-home pay calculator models the taper automatically and warns you when you are in the zone - try different pension percentages and watch the marginal rate change.
Related guides
- The personal allowance taper - how adjusted net income is built, and every relief that reduces it.
- Salary sacrifice explained - the mechanics of the escape route, and what it affects.
- Scottish income tax vs the rest of the UK - why the same band costs a Scottish taxpayer more.
- All guides
This guide describes the 2026/27 rules for general information. It is not personal tax or financial advice; pension decisions depend on your circumstances, including the annual allowance and its taper for very high earners.