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Your Personal Tax Account (PTA) is an easy and secure way to manage your tax online. You can use it to check your tax code, claim a refund and update your details, all in one place, without needing to contact HMRC by phone or post.
Every UK taxpayer has a PTA, but you will need to register through the Government Gateway or GOV.UK One Login to start using it. You may also be asked to confirm your identity during the setup process. This is to keep your details safe and normally involves using photo ID such as a passport or driving licence.
Currently, the following services are accessible through your PTA:
The Marriage Allowance applies to married couples and civil partners where one partner does not pay Income Tax, usually because their income is below the personal allowance. For the 2025–26 tax year, this means the lower-earning partner must earn less than £12,570. The figures remain the same for the upcoming 2026-27 tax year.
The allowance allows the lower-earning partner to transfer up to £1,260 of their unused personal allowance to their spouse or civil partner. This transfer is only permitted if the recipient is taxed at no more than the basic rate of Income Tax. This means the higher-earning partner must usually have an income between £12,571 and £50,270. For those living in Scotland, the figures are somewhat different.
By using the allowance, up to £1,260 of unused personal allowance can be transferred, resulting in a tax saving of up to £252 per year for the higher-earning partner, calculated at 20% of the amount transferred.
If you meet the eligibility criteria and have not yet claimed the Marriage Allowance, you can backdate your claim for up to four previous tax years as well as the current tax year. This could result in a total tax saving of up to £1,260 across all eligible years. Claims, including backdated ones and those for the current year, can be submitted online via GOV.UK.
At present, claims can be backdated to the 2021–22 tax year, meaning you may be able to claim for 2021–22, 2022–23, 2023–24, 2024–25 and the current 2025–26 tax year. This could result in a tax saving of up to £252 a year for up to five years. Claims, including backdated claims and applications for the current year, can be made online via GOV.UK.
If you have not yet checked whether you need to use Making Tax Digital (MTD) for Income Tax, now is the time to urgently see if you are affected. The Income Tax reporting requirements for some self-employed individuals and landlords will change significantly from 6 April 2026. MTD for Income Tax changes the traditional annual self-assessment process to a new digital record-keeping and quarterly updates process submitted through recognised software.
From April 2026, those with qualifying income over £50,000 will be required to maintain digital records and submit quarterly updates of trading or property income and expenses. From April 2027, the threshold will reduce to £30,000, and in April 2028 it will further reduce to £20,000.
A full tax return will still be required by the following 31 January after the tax year i.e. the first MTD for Income Tax return, covering the 2026-27 tax year, will be due by 31 January 2028.
MTD aims to reduce errors, improve efficiency, and support business productivity. HMRC estimates that around 860,000 taxpayers will join in 2026, with more joining in 2027.
The system also provides exemptions for those unable to go digital and offers accessible software solutions. Taxpayers joining MTD for Income Tax in April 2026 will not receive penalty points for late quarterly updates for the first 12 months. This will allow them time to adapt to the new system.
Following the deadline for submission of self-assessment tax returns for the 2024–25 tax year, it is a useful time to revisit the rules on how long you should keep your tax records. There are no strict requirements for how records must be kept, but they should be retained either on paper, digitally, or within appropriate software.
For personal (non-business self-assessment records, you are generally required to keep them for at least 22 months after the end of the relevant tax year. This means records for the year ended 5 April 2025 should be kept until at least 31 January 2027. If you file your tax return late, you must keep the records for at least 15 months from the date of filing.
The types of records you should keep include those relating to:
This is not an exhaustive list, and you should retain any additional records used in preparing your tax return.
Different rules apply for business records. Self-employed individuals must usually keep records for at least five years after the 31 January submission deadline. For the 2024–25 tax year, this means retaining records until at least 31 January 2031. Penalties may apply for failing to keep accurate and complete records.
If you are concerned by the continuing pressures on your take-home pay and need some certainty on your Income Tax liability, the HMRC calculator available at https://www.gov.uk/estimate-income-tax can be helpful. Alternatively, if you believe you may have overpaid tax, reviewing your position could help you claim a refund.
The 'Estimate your Income Tax' service allows employees to calculate how much Income Tax and National Insurance they are likely to pay for the current tax year (6 April 2025 to 5 April 2026). It is particularly useful for those paid through PAYE, giving a clear picture of expected take-home pay after tax, pension contributions and any student loan repayments.
The tool is straightforward to use, but there are a few important points to keep in mind. If you have more than one job, you will need to run the calculator separately for each source of income. It is also not suitable if your only income comes from state benefits, such as the State Pension.
While the calculator provides a helpful estimate, it does not account for every scenario. For example, certain repayments, such as the Winter Fuel Payment for higher earners are not available on the calculator.
It was confirmed as part of the Autumn Budget that the Income Tax thresholds will continue at their current levels for a further three years, extending the freeze until April 2031. This means that most tax allowances are to remain frozen for 2026-27 and beyond.
As a result, the personal allowance will stay at £12,570, while the higher rate threshold will remain at £50,270 for taxpayers across most of the UK (with different thresholds applying in Scotland). National Insurance thresholds will also remain fixed over the same period.
Keeping these thresholds unchanged means that many taxpayers will gradually pay more tax as their earnings increase over time. This effect, commonly known as fiscal drag, occurs when wages rise but tax bands do not. As incomes grow due to inflation or pay increases, a larger portion of earnings becomes taxable, and more people move into higher tax brackets.
In practical terms, the continued freeze is likely to push increasing numbers of taxpayers into the 40% higher rate band and, for some, the 45% additional rate band. Others who previously earned below the personal allowance may also begin paying Income Tax for the first time. Although tax rates themselves remain unchanged, the overall tax burden rises as more income becomes subject to tax.
Fiscal drag is influenced by several factors, including government policy on tax thresholds, inflation levels and wage growth. In periods of rising wages or high inflation, the impact of frozen thresholds becomes more pronounced. For taxpayers the impact of fiscal drag effectively operates as a stealth tax over time.
A number of changes to the taxation of dividends, property income and savings income were announced in the Autumn Budget 2025. These measures will affect the rates at which different types of income are taxed and will be introduced in stages over the next few years.
From April 2026, the tax rates applying to dividend income will increase by 2%. The ordinary dividend rate will rise to 10.75%, while the upper dividend rate will increase to 35.75%. The dividend additional rate and the dividend trust rate will remain unchanged at 39.35% as will the dividend allowance at £500.
Further changes will apply from April 2027. Income Tax rates on both property income and savings income will increase by 2%. For the 2027–28 tax year, property income will be taxed at 22% (basic rate), 42% (higher rate) and 47% (additional rate). Savings income will also be taxed at the same rates.
Alongside these rate changes, the government is also reforming how Income Tax is calculated by altering the current ordering rules that determine the calculation of Income Tax. Under the current system, savings and dividend income are treated as the highest part of an individual’s income. Most other income, such as employment, pension or trading income, is grouped together as “non-savings, non-dividend income” and taxed first.
Under the new rules, the revised order of taxation will be:
These changes to the calculation of Income Tax are intended to better reflect the different nature of income sources and ensure the new tax rates for property, savings and dividends operate as intended.
If you have paid too much tax to HMRC, you may be able to claim a tax refund. Overpayments can happen for several reasons, such as a change in employment, being placed on the wrong tax code or failing to claim certain allowances or expenses.
The way you claim depends on your circumstances such as whether or not you complete a self-assessment tax return and how long ago the overpayment occurred.
HMRC states that you may be eligible for a refund if you have overpaid tax on:
HMRC offers an online service at www.gov.uk/claim-tax-refund/y that allows you to check whether you are eligible and, in many cases, submit a claim.
In most situations, you can backdate a claim up to four years from the end of the relevant tax year. This means you can still claim a refund for the 2021–22 tax year (which ended on 5 April 2022) until 5 April 2026.
An application to claim child benefits can usually be made 48 hours after you have registered the birth of your child, or once a child comes to live with you. An application for child benefit can be backdated for up to 3 months.
An application for child benefit is usually made online either using the government gateway. If you are unable to complete a claim online, it is also possible to claim child benefit by completing the Child Benefit form CH2 and sending it to the Child Benefit Office. The address is on the form. If a claim is being made for more than 2 children, complete the additional child CH2(CS) form and send it with your CH2. It is also possible to contact HMRC to make a claim by phone if the online or postal routes are not available. Making an application through the government gateway will usually be the fastest way to make a claim.
Child benefit is also usually payable for children who come to the UK. However, there are a number of rules which must be met in order to claim. HMRC must be notified without delay if a child receiving child benefit moves permanently abroad.
The child benefit rates for the only or eldest child in a family is currently £26.05 a week and the weekly rate for all other children is £17.25. These rates will increase to £27.05 and £17.90 respectively from April 2026.
There are several reasons why you might need to file a self-assessment tax return. This could apply if you are self-employed, a company director, have an annual income over £150,000, or receive income from savings, investments or property.
You must file a self-assessment tax return if any of the following apply to you during the tax year:
If you are filing a self-assessment return for the first time, you must notify HMRC by 5 October following the end of the tax year. For the 2025–26 tax year (ending 5 April 2026), this means the registration deadline is 5 October 2026.
HMRC provides a helpful online tool to check whether you need to submit a self-assessment return: www.gov.uk/check-if-you-need-tax-return.
