What Is the Tax-Free Allowance for a Single Man?

The tax-free allowance for a single man in the UK is £12,570 for the 2026/27 tax year, the same Personal Allowance that applies to every other taxpayer regardless of gender or marital status. The phrase “single man’s allowance” is a leftover from decades ago, when the tax system did set different thresholds by sex and marital status. Modern rules use one uniform figure. What actually changes how much tax you pay as a single person is the interaction of that allowance with income tax bands, National Insurance, and a handful of smaller allowances most people forget to use.

The £12,570 Personal Allowance

The Personal Allowance is the amount you can earn each year before any income tax is due. For 2026/27 that figure is £12,570.¹ Your employer applies it automatically through PAYE, so most workers never claim it directly. It appears on your payslip as tax code 1257L, HMRC’s shorthand for a £12,570 tax-free threshold.²

This figure has been frozen at £12,570 since 2021/22 and will stay there until at least April 2028. Legislation extending the freeze through April 2031 is being introduced in Finance Bill 2025-26.³ Because wages tend to rise with inflation while the threshold stays fixed, a larger share of income gets taxed each year. This is often called fiscal drag, and it has pulled millions of additional people into higher tax bands since the freeze began.

What You Pay Once You Cross the Threshold

Once earnings pass £12,570, income tax applies at graduated rates. For 2026/27:²

Basic rate of 20% on taxable income from £12,571 to £50,270.
Higher rate of 40% on taxable income from £50,271 to £125,140.
Additional rate of 45% on taxable income above £125,140.

These bands are also frozen until 2031. A pay rise from £50,000 to £51,000 doesn’t just add £1,000 of income; the slice above £50,270 is taxed at 40% rather than 20%. Knowing where you sit in these bands helps with pension contributions, salary sacrifice, and other legal moves to bring taxable income down.

The £100,000 Trap for High Earners

Higher earners face a painful quirk. Once your adjusted net income passes £100,000, the Personal Allowance shrinks by £1 for every £2 you earn above that threshold. By £125,140 the whole £12,570 has disappeared.²

The practical effect on income between £100,000 and £125,140 is severe. Every extra £2 earned costs £1 of tax-free allowance, and that lost allowance is taxed at 40%, adding 20p on top of the 40p already owed at the higher rate. The result is a marginal rate of 60% across that band. For every additional £100 you earn there, you keep £40. Pension contributions become especially useful here, since money paid in before it counts toward adjusted net income can keep you below £100,000 and preserve the full allowance.

Smaller Allowances That Stack on Top

The Personal Allowance is the biggest tax-free figure, but several smaller ones sit alongside it, and they apply to everyone.

Personal Savings Allowance: basic rate taxpayers can earn up to £1,000 in savings interest tax-free; higher rate taxpayers get £500; additional rate taxpayers get nothing.
Dividend Allowance: the first £500 of dividend income each year is tax-free, whatever your band.
Trading Allowance: up to £1,000 of self-employment or casual income (freelance work, selling crafts, and similar) is exempt, with no need to register for Self Assessment if you stay under it.⁴
Property Allowance: the first £1,000 of income from renting out property or land is tax-free.⁴

Used together, these can meaningfully lower your bill. A single person on a salary under £50,270 who also picks up £900 in savings interest, £400 in dividends, and £800 from occasional freelancing would owe nothing on that extra income.

The One Place Being Single Costs You

Being single does put you at a small disadvantage in one specific area. Married couples and civil partners can use Marriage Allowance, which lets one partner transfer £1,260 of unused Personal Allowance to the other. The recipient’s tax-free amount rises from £12,570 to £13,830, saving up to £252 per year.⁵

The transfer only works when one partner earns under £12,570 and the other is a basic rate taxpayer earning between £12,571 and £50,270. Single filers cannot access it. That £252 is the one meaningful tax gap between a single person and a married person on the same income.

Blind Person’s Allowance

If you are registered as blind or severely sight impaired with your local council, you qualify for an additional tax-free amount on top of the standard Personal Allowance. For 2025/26 Blind Person’s Allowance is £3,130, taking the total tax-free threshold to £15,700.⁶ For 2026/27 it rises to £3,250.

To claim, you need to be registered with your local council or hold a certificate confirming severe sight impairment.⁷ If your income is too low to use the full amount, the surplus can be transferred to a spouse or civil partner.⁶

National Insurance Runs Alongside Income Tax

Income tax is only part of what leaves your pay. National Insurance contributions also come out through PAYE, with their own thresholds. For 2025/26, employees pay:⁸

0% on earnings up to £242 per week (£12,570 per year).
8% on earnings between £242.01 and £967 per week (£12,571 to £50,270 per year).
2% on anything above £967 per week.

Combined with income tax, a basic rate taxpayer effectively loses 28p of each pound earned between £12,571 and £50,270. A higher rate taxpayer above £50,270 loses 42p. Unlike income tax, there is no personal allowance for National Insurance as such; the primary threshold where contributions start simply happens to align with the £12,570 Personal Allowance.

Checking Your Tax Code

Your tax code decides how much of the £12,570 allowance is applied to each pay period. If it is wrong, you either overpay all year or face a bill later. HMRC’s online personal tax account lets you view your code, update income details, and report changes.⁹ The “Check your Income Tax” service updates employment and pension details directly.¹⁰

Wrong codes commonly appear after starting a second job, receiving company benefits like a car or private medical cover, or when HMRC tries to collect tax on untaxed side income through your main employer’s code. A “K” prefix means HMRC is adding taxable income to your code rather than giving allowances, so check the underlying figure carefully.

1
GOV.UK. Income Tax Rates and Allowances for Current and Previous Tax Years
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GOV.UK. Income Tax Rates and Personal Allowances
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GOV.UK. Income Tax: Maintaining the Personal Allowance and the Basic Rate Limit
4
GOV.UK. Tax-Free Allowances on Property and Trading Income
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GOV.UK. Marriage Allowance: How It Works
6
GOV.UK. Blind Person’s Allowance: What You’ll Get
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GOV.UK. Blind Person’s Allowance – Eligibility
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GOV.UK. National Insurance Rates and Categories: Contribution Rates
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GOV.UK. Personal Tax Account: Sign In or Set Up
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GOV.UK. Check Your Income Tax for the Current Year