Income Tax is a tax on income. Not all income is taxable and you’re only taxed on ‘taxable income’ above a certain level. Even then, there are other reliefs and allowances that can reduce your Income Tax bill – and in some cases mean you’ve no tax to pay.
What counts as taxable income?
Taxable income includes:
- earnings from employment
- earnings from self-employment
- most pensions income (State, company and personal pensions)
- interest on most savings
- income from shares (dividends)
- rental income
- income paid to you from a trust
Non-taxable income
There are certain sorts of income that you never pay tax on. These include certain benefits, income from tax exempt accounts, Working Tax Credit (WTC) and premium bond wins. These income sources are ignored altogether when working out how much Income Tax you may need to pay.
Tax-free allowances
Nearly everyone who is resident in the UK for tax purposes receives a ‘Personal Allowance’, which is an amount of taxable income you’re allowed to earn or receive each year tax-free.
This tax year (2023/24), the basic Personal Allowance – or tax-free amount – is £12,570.
If you’re registered blind, or are unable to perform any work for which eyesight is essential, you can also claim the tax-free Blind Person’s Allowance.
Income Tax is only due on taxable income that’s above your tax-free allowances.
Allowances and reliefs that can reduce your Income Tax bill
If you’re due to pay Income Tax, there are a number of deductible allowances and reliefs that can reduce your tax bill. These include:
- Married Couple’s Allowance – the husband, wife or civil partner has to be born before 6 April 1935
- Maintenance Payment relief – either you or your former spouse or civil partner must have been born before 6 April 1935
Unlike the tax-free allowances, these aren’t amounts of income you can receive tax-free. Rather they’re amounts that can reduce your tax bill.
Tax on company benefits
If you’re employed and you receive non-cash benefits from your employer you will have to pay tax on them.
Taxable benefits
Benefits that you might have to pay tax on include:
- company cars or vans
- fuel provided for your vehicle
- medical insurance
- living accommodation
- loans at low interest rates
How much Income Tax you pay
After your allowable expenses and any tax-free allowances have been taken into account, the amount of tax you pay is calculated using different tax rates and a series of tax bands.
‘Non savings income’ includes income from employment or self-employment, most pension income and rental income.
‘Dividends’ means income from shares in UK companies. Savings and dividend income is added to your other taxable income and taxed last. This means you pay tax on these sorts of income based on your highest Income Tax band.
How you pay Income Tax
Income Tax is collected in different ways depending on the type of income and whether you’re employed, self-employed or not working. The different ways Income Tax is collected include:
- PAYE (Pay As You Earn)
- Self Assessment
- tax deducted ‘at source’ whereby tax is deducted from bank/building society interest before the interest is paid to you
- in some cases, one-off payments
If you’re an employee or you receive a company or private pension, your employer or pension provider will deduct tax through PAYE. If you’re self-employed, you’ll be responsible for filling in a Self Assessment tax return and paying your own tax.
Paying the right amount of Income Tax
It’s important to check that you’re paying the right amount of tax. You can do this by checking your:
- total taxable income
- tax-free allowances and reliefs
- current tax code (if relevant)
If you’re paying too much tax you can claim this money back. If you’re an employee or you receive a company or personal pension and you think you’re paying too little tax, you’ll need to contact HMRC to change your tax code.
If you have any questions, please contact us.