Rates and thresholds for employers 2018 to 2019
Use these rates and thresholds for the 2018 to 2019 tax year to run payroll or if you pay your employees expenses and benefits.
These figures apply from 6 April 2018 to 5 April 2019, unless it gives another period.
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. It also depends on how much of their taxable income is above their Personal Allowance.
There are different rates for Scotland.
| PAYE tax rates and thresholds | 2018 to 2019 |
|---|---|
| Employee personal allowance | £228 per week £988 per month £11,850 per year |
| UK basic tax rate | 20% on annual earnings above the PAYE tax threshold and up to £34,500 |
| UK higher tax rate | 40% on annual earnings from £34,501 to £150,000 |
| UK additional tax rate | 45% on annual earnings above £150,000 |
Scotland
| PAYE tax rates and thresholds | 2018 to 2019 |
|---|---|
| Employee personal allowance | £228 per week £988 per month £11,850 per year |
| Scottish starter tax rate | 19% on annual earnings above the PAYE tax threshold and up to £2,000 |
| Scottish basic tax rate | 20% on annual earnings from £2,001 to £12,150 |
| Scottish intermediate tax rate | 21% on annual earnings from £12,151 to £31,580 |
| Scottish higher tax rate | 41% on annual earnings from £31,581 to £150,000 |
| Scottish top tax rate | 46% on annual earnings above £150,000 |
Emergency tax codes
The emergency tax codes from 6 April 2018 are:
- 1185L W1
- 1185L M1
- 1185L 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 (LEL).
| Class 1 National Insurance thresholds | 2018 to 2019 |
|---|---|
| LEL | £116 per week £503 per month £6,032 per year |
| Primary Threshold (PT) | £162 per week £702 per month £8,424 per year |
| Secondary Threshold (ST) | £162 per week £702 per month £8,424 per year |
| Upper Secondary Threshold (under 21) (UST) | £892 per week £3,863 per month £46,350 per year |
| Apprentice Upper Secondary Threshold (apprentice under 25) (AUST) | £892 per week £3,863 per month £46,350 per year |
| Upper Earnings Limit (UEL) | £892 per week £3,863 per month £46,350 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 LEL up to and including PT | Earnings above the PT up to and including UEL | Balance of earnings above UEL |
|---|---|---|---|
| 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% |
| 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 LEL up to and including ST | Earnings above ST up to and including UEL, UST, AUST | Balance of earnings above UEL, UST, AUST |
|---|---|---|---|
| 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% |
| Z (under 21 – deferment) | 0% | 0% | 13.80% |
Class 1A National Insurance and paying 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 at the end of each tax year.
| National Insurance class | 2018 to 2019 rate |
|---|---|
| Class 1A | 13.8% |
Pay employers’ Class 1A National Insurance.
Class 1B National Insurance and paying PAYE Settlement Agreements (PSAs)
If you have a PSA, you have to pay Class 1B National Insurance. All tax and National Insurance due on small or irregular expenses and benefits can be made in one annual payment.
| National Insurance class | 2018 to 2019 rate |
|---|---|
| Class 1B | 13.8% |
Pay Class 1B National Insurance.
Find out more about National Insurance classes.
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 an employee the National Minimum Wage or if you owe them payments from previous years.
These rates apply from 1 April 2018.
| Category of worker | Hourly rate |
|---|---|
| Aged 25 and above (national living wage rate) | £7.83 |
| Aged 21 to 24 inclusive | £7.38 |
| Aged 18 to 20 inclusive | £5.90 |
| Aged under 18 (but above compulsory school leaving age) | £4.20 |
| Apprentices aged under 19 | £3.70 |
| Apprentices aged 19 and over, but in the first year of their apprenticeship | £3.70 |
National Minimum Wage rates for previous years.
Statutory Maternity, Paternity, Adoption and Shared Parental Pay
Use the maternity and paternity calculator for employers to calculate your employee’s:
- Statutory Maternity Pay (SMP)
- Statutory Paternity Pay (SPP)
- Statutory Adoption Pay (SAP)
- qualifying week
- average weekly earnings
- leave period
| Type of payment or recovery | 2018 to 2019 rate |
|---|---|
| SMP – weekly rate for first 6 weeks | 90% of the employee’s average weekly earnings |
| SMP – weekly rate for remaining weeks | £145.18 or 90% of the employee’s average weekly earnings, whichever is lower |
| Statutory Paternity Pay (SPP) – weekly rate | £145.18 or 90% of the employee’s average weekly earnings, whichever is lower |
| Statutory Adoption Pay (SAP) – weekly rate for first 6 weeks | 90% of employee’s average weekly earnings |
| SAP – weekly rate for remaining weeks | £145.18 or 90% of the employee’s average weekly earnings, whichever is lower |
| Statutory Shared Parental Pay (ShPP) – weekly rate | £145.18 or 90% of the employee’s average weekly earnings, whichever is lower |
| SMP/SPP/ShPP/SAP – 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’ (QDs) 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 QDs 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| £13.1500 | 7 | £13.15 | £26.30 | £39.45 | £52.60 | £65.75 | £78.90 | £92.05 |
| £15.3416 | 6 | £15.35 | £30.69 | £46.03 | £61.37 | £76.71 | £92.05 | |
| £18.4100 | 5 | £18.41 | £36.82 | £55.23 | £73.64 | £92.05 | ||
| £23.0125 | 4 | £23.02 | £46.03 | £69.04 | £92.05 | |||
| £30.6833 | 3 | £30.69 | £61.37 | £92.05 | ||||
| £46.0250 | 2 | £46.03 | £92.05 | |||||
| £92.0500 | 1 | £92.05 |
Student loan recovery
If your employees’ earnings are above the earnings threshold, record their student loan deductions in your payroll software. It will automatically calculate and deduct repayments from their pay.
| Rate or threshold | 2018 to 2019 rate |
|---|---|
| Employee earnings threshold for Plan 1 | £18,330 per year £1,527.50 per month £352.50 per week |
| Employee earnings threshold for Plan 2 | £25,000 per year £2,083.33 per month £480.76 per week |
| Student loan deductions | 9% |
Advisory Fuel Rates (AFRs) for company cars
Use AFRs to work out mileage costs if you provide company cars to your employees.
These rates apply from 1 March 2019.
| Engine size | Petrol – amount per mile | LPG – amount per mile |
|---|---|---|
| 1400cc or less | 11 pence | 7 pence |
| 1401cc to 2000cc | 14 pence | 8 pence |
| Over 2000cc | 21 pence | 13 pence |
| Engine size | Diesel – amount per mile |
|---|---|
| 1600cc or less | 10 pence |
| 1601cc to 2000cc | 11 pence |
| Over 2000cc | 13 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.
Mileage Allowance Payments (MAPs) for employee vehicles
MAPs are what you pay your employees for using their own vehicle for business journeys.
You can pay your employees an approved amount of MAPs 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 MAPs.
| Type of vehicle | Rate per business mile 2018 to 2019 |
|---|---|
| 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 |
Updates to this page
Published 4 January 2018Last updated 22 February 2019 + show all updates
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The company car advisory fuel rates (AFRs) have been updated to show the rates that apply from 1 March 2019.
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Advisory Fuel Rate from 1 December 2018 added
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Company cars: Advisory Fuel Rates have been updated to show rates from 1 September 2018.
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Company cars: Advisory Fuel Rates (AFRs) has been updated.
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Minor updates to the rates and dates of the Advisory Fuel Rates for period 1 December 2017 to 28 February 2018.
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Scottish Income Tax rates updated following Parliamentary approval.
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First published.