Rates and thresholds for employers 2021 to 2022
Use these rates and thresholds when you operate your payroll or provide expenses and benefits to your employees.
Unless otherwise stated, the following figures apply from 6 April 2021 to 5 April 2022.
PAYE tax and Class 1 National Insurance contributions
You normally operate PAYE as part of your payroll so HMRC can collect Income Tax and National Insurance from your employees.
Your payroll software will calculate how much tax and National Insurance to deduct from your employees’ pay.
Tax thresholds, rates and codes
The amount of Income Tax you deduct from your employees depends on their tax code and how much of their taxable income is above their Personal Allowance.
England and Northern Ireland
| PAYE tax rates and thresholds | 2021 to 2022 |
|---|---|
| Employee personal allowance | £242 per week £1,048 per month £12,570 per year |
| English and Northern Irish basic tax rate | 20% on annual earnings above the PAYE tax threshold and up to £37,700 |
| English and Northern Irish higher tax rate | 40% on annual earnings from £37,701 to £150,000 |
| English and Northern Irish additional tax rate | 45% on annual earnings above £150,000 |
Scotland
| PAYE tax rates and thresholds | 2021 to 2022 |
|---|---|
| Employee personal allowance | £242 per week £1,048 per month £12,570 per year |
| Scottish starter tax rate | 19% on annual earnings above the PAYE tax threshold and up to £2,097 |
| Scottish basic tax rate | 20% on annual earnings from £2,098 to £12,726 |
| Scottish intermediate tax rate | 21% on annual earnings from £12,727 to £31,092 |
| Scottish higher tax rate | 41% on annual earnings from £31,093 to £150,000 |
| Scottish top tax rate | 46% on annual earnings above £150,000 |
Wales
| PAYE tax rates and thresholds | 2021 to 2022 |
|---|---|
| Employee personal allowance | £242 per week £1,048 per month £12,570 per year |
| Welsh basic tax rate | 20% on annual earnings above the PAYE tax threshold and up to £37,700 |
| Welsh higher tax rate | 40% on annual earnings from £37,701 to £150,000 |
| Welsh additional tax rate | 45% on annual earnings above £150,000 |
Emergency tax codes
The emergency tax codes from 6 April 2021 are:
- 1257L W1
- 1257L M1
- 1257L X
Find out more about emergency tax codes.
Class 1 National Insurance thresholds
You can only make National Insurance deductions on earnings above the lower earnings limit.
| Class 1 National Insurance thresholds | 2021 to 2022 |
|---|---|
| Lower earnings limit | £120 per week £520 per month £6,240 per year |
| Primary threshold | £184 per week £797 per month £9,568 per year |
| Secondary threshold | £170 per week £737 per month £8,840 per year |
| Upper secondary threshold (under 21) | £967 per week £4,189 per month £50,270 per year |
| Apprentice upper secondary threshold (apprentice under 25) | £967 per week £4,189 per month £50,270 per year |
| Veterans upper secondary threshold | £967 per week £4,189 per month £50,270 per year |
| Upper earnings limit | £967 per week £4,189 per month £50,270 per year |
Class 1 National Insurance rates
Employee (primary) contribution rates
Deduct primary contributions (employee’s National Insurance) from your employees’ pay through PAYE.
| National Insurance category letter | Earnings at or above lower earnings limit up to and including primary threshold | Earnings above the primary threshold up to and including upper earnings limit | Balance of earnings above upper earnings limit |
|---|---|---|---|
| A | 0% | 12% | 2% |
| B | 0% | 5.85% | 2% |
| C | nil | nil | nil |
| H (apprentice under 25) | 0% | 12% | 2% |
| J | 0% | 2% | 2% |
| M (under 21) | 0% | 12% | 2% |
| V (veteran) | 0% | 12% | 2% |
| Z (under 21 – deferment) | 0% | 2% | 2% |
Employer (secondary) contribution rates
You pay secondary contributions (employer’s National Insurance) to HMRC as part of your PAYE bill.
Pay employers’ PAYE tax and National Insurance.
| National Insurance category letter | Earnings at or above lower earnings limit up to and including secondary threshold | Earnings above secondary threshold up to and including upper earnings limit, upper secondary thresholds for under 21s, apprentices and veterans | Balance of earnings above upper earnings limit, upper secondary thresholds for under 21s, apprentices and veterans |
|---|---|---|---|
| A | 0% | 13.80% | 13.80% |
| B | 0% | 13.80% | 13.80% |
| C | 0% | 13.80% | 13.80% |
| H (apprentice under 25) | 0% | 0% | 13.80% |
| J | 0% | 13.80% | 13.80% |
| M (under 21) | 0% | 0% | 13.80% |
| V (veteran) | 0% | 0% | 13.80% |
| Z (under 21 – deferment) | 0% | 0% | 13.80% |
Class 1A National Insurance: expenses and benefits
You must pay Class 1A National Insurance on work benefits you give to your employees, for example a company mobile phone. You report and pay Class 1A on expenses and benefits at the end of each tax year.
Class 1A National Insurance: termination awards and sporting testimonial payments
Class 1A National Insurance contributions are due on the amount of termination awards paid to employees which exceed £30,000 and on the amount of sporting testimonial payments paid by independent committees which exceed £100,000. You report and pay Class 1A on these types of payments during the tax year as part of your payroll.
| National Insurance class | 2021 to 2022 rate |
|---|---|
| Class 1A | 13.8% |
Pay employers’ Class 1A National Insurance.
Class 1B National Insurance: PAYE Settlement Agreements (PSAs)
You pay Class 1B National Insurance if you have a PSA. This allows you to make one annual payment to cover all the tax and National Insurance due on small or irregular taxable expenses or benefits for your employees.
| National Insurance class | 2021 to 2022 rate |
|---|---|
| Class 1B | 13.8% |
Pay Class 1B National Insurance.
National Minimum Wage
The National Minimum Wage is the minimum pay per hour almost all workers are entitled to by law. Use the National Minimum Wage calculator to check if you’re paying a worker the National Minimum Wage or if you owe them payments from past years.
These rates apply from 1 April 2021.
| Category of worker | Hourly rate |
|---|---|
| Aged 23 and above (national living wage rate) | £8.91 |
| Aged 21 to 22 inclusive | £8.36 |
| Aged 18 to 20 inclusive | £6.56 |
| Aged under 18 (but above compulsory school leaving age) | £4.62 |
| Apprentices aged under 19 | £4.30 |
| Apprentices aged 19 and over, but in the first year of their apprenticeship | £4.30 |
National Minimum Wage rates for previous years.
Statutory Maternity, Paternity, Adoption, Shared Parental and Parental Bereavement Pay
Use the maternity, adoption and paternity calculator for employers to calculate your employee’s:
- Statutory Maternity Pay (SMP)
- paternity or adoption pay
- qualifying week
- average weekly earnings
- leave period
These rates apply from 4 April 2021.
| Type of payment or recovery | 2021 to 2022 rate |
|---|---|
| SMP – weekly rate for first 6 weeks | 90% of the employee’s average weekly earnings |
| SMP – weekly rate for remaining weeks | £151.97 or 90% of the employee’s average weekly earnings, whichever is lower |
| Statutory Paternity Pay (SPP) – weekly rate | £151.97 or 90% of the employee’s average weekly earnings, whichever is lower |
| Statutory Adoption Pay (SAP) – weekly rate for first 6 weeks | 90% of the employee’s average weekly earnings |
| SAP – weekly rate for remaining weeks | £151.97 or 90% of the employee’s average weekly earnings, whichever is lower |
| Statutory Shared Parental Pay (ShPP) – weekly rate | £151.97 or 90% of the employee’s average weekly earnings, whichever is lower |
| Statutory Parental Bereavement Pay (SPBP) – weekly rate | £151.97 or 90% of the employee’s average weekly earnings, whichever is lower |
| SMP, SPP, ShPP, SAP or SPBP – proportion of your payments you can recover from HMRC | 92% if your total Class 1 National Insurance (both employee and employer contributions) is above £45,000 for the previous tax year 103% if your total Class 1 National Insurance for the previous tax year is £45,000 or lower |
Statutory Sick Pay (SSP)
The same weekly SSP rate applies to all employees. However, the amount you must actually pay an employee for each day they’re off work due to illness (the daily rate) depends on the number of ‘qualifying days’ they work each week.
Use the SSP calculator to work out your employee’s sick pay, or use these rates.
| Unrounded daily rates | Number of qualifying days in 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| £13.7642 | 7 | £13.77 | £27.53 | £41.30 | £55.06 | £68.83 | £82.59 | £96.35 |
| £16.0583 | 6 | £16.06 | £32.12 | £48.18 | £64.24 | £80.30 | £96.35 | |
| £19.2700 | 5 | £19.27 | £38.54 | £57.81 | £77.08 | £96.35 | ||
| £24.0875 | 4 | £24.09 | £48.18 | £72.27 | £96.35 | |||
| £32.1166 | 3 | £32.12 | £64.24 | £96.35 | ||||
| £48.1750 | 2 | £48.18 | £96.35 | |||||
| £96.35 | 1 | £96.35 |
Student loan and postgraduate loan recovery
If your employees’ earnings are above the earnings threshold, record their student loan and postgraduate loan deductions in your payroll software. It will automatically calculate and deduct repayments from their pay.
| Rate or threshold | 2021 to 2022 rate |
|---|---|
| Employee earnings threshold for student loan plan 1 | £19,895 per year £1,657.91 per month £382.59 per week |
| Employee earnings threshold for student loan plan 2 | £27,295 per year £2,274.58 per month £524.90 per week |
| Employee earnings threshold for student loan plan 4 | £25,000 per year £2,083.33 per month £480.76 per week |
| Student loan deductions | 9% |
| Employee earnings threshold for postgraduate loan | £21,000 per year £1,750.00 per month £403.84 per week |
| Postgraduate loan deductions | 6% |
Company cars: advisory fuel rates
Use advisory fuel rates to work out mileage costs if you provide company cars to your employees.
These rates apply from 1 March 2021.
| Engine size | Petrol – amount per mile | LPG – amount per mile |
|---|---|---|
| 1400cc or less | 10 pence | 7 pence |
| 1401cc to 2000cc | 12 pence | 8 pence |
| Over 2000cc | 18 pence | 12 pence |
| Engine size | Diesel – amount per mile |
|---|---|
| 1600cc or less | 9 pence |
| 1601cc to 2000cc | 11 pence |
| Over 2000cc | 12 pence |
Hybrid cars are treated as either petrol or diesel cars for this purpose.
Advisory fuel rates for previous periods.
Advisory electricity rate for fully electric cars
Amount per mile – 4 pence.
Electricity is not a fuel for car fuel benefit purposes.
Employee vehicles: mileage allowance payments
Mileage allowance payments are what you pay your employees for using their own vehicle for business journeys.
You can pay your employees an approved amount of mileage allowance payments each year without having to report them to HMRC. To work out the approved amount, multiply your employee’s business travel miles for the year by the rate per mile for their vehicle.
Find out more about reporting and paying mileage allowance payments.
| Type of vehicle | Rate per business mile 2021 to 2022 |
|---|---|
| Car | For tax purposes: 45 pence for the first 10,000 business miles in a tax year, then 25 pence for each subsequent mile For National Insurance purposes: 45 pence for all business miles |
| Motorcycle | 24 pence for both tax and National Insurance purposes and for all business miles |
| Cycle | 20 pence for both tax and National Insurance purposes and for all business miles |
Employment Allowance
Employment Allowance allows eligible employers to reduce their annual National Insurance liability by up to the annual allowance amount.
| Allowance | 2021 to 2022 rate |
|---|---|
| Employment allowance | £4,000 |
Apprenticeship Levy
Employers and connected companies with a total annual pay bill of more than £3 million, are liable to the Apprenticeship Levy, which is payable monthly. Employers who are not connected to another company or charity will have an annual allowance that reduces the amount of Apprenticeship Levy you have to pay. Apprenticeship Levy is charged at a percentage of your annual pay bill.
| Allowance or charge | 2021 to 2022 rate |
|---|---|
| Apprenticeship Levy allowance | £15,000 |
| Apprenticeship Levy charge | 0.5% |
Updates to this page
Last updated 7 February 2022 + show all updates
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National Insurance category letter, rates and thresholds added for employers of veterans.
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Added translation
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The National Insurance increase will be for one year — this does not affect those over the State Pension age.
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From April 2022, the government will introduce a new, UK-wide 1.25% Health and Social Care Levy, ringfenced for health and social care, based on National Insurance contributions.
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Updated to reflect 2021 - 2022 rates
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First published.