Income tax, taxable bands and tax payable
Scottish Income Tax Bands 2020/21
| Taxable Income | Band | Tax Rate |
| Over £12,500 to £14,585 | Starter rate | 19% |
| Over £14,586 to £25,158 | Basic rate | 20% |
| Over £25,159 to £43,430 | Intermediate rate | 21% |
| Over £43,431 to £150,000 | Higher rate | 41% |
| Above £150,000 | Top Rate | 46% |
Example income tax at various gross salaries
| Example Income | £25,500 | |
| Rate | Income at that rate | Amount of tax |
| Personal Allowance | £12,500 | £0 |
| 19% | £2,085 | £396.15 |
| 20% | £10,572 | £2,114.40 |
| 21% | £341 | £71.61 |
| Total | £25,000 | £2,582.16 |
| Example Income | £160,000 | |
| Rate | Income at that rate | Amount of tax |
| Personal Allowance | £0 | £0 |
| 19% | £2,085 | £396.15 |
| 20% | £10,572 | £2,114.40 |
| 21% | £18,271 | £3,836.91 |
| 41% | £106,569 | £43,693.29 |
| 46% | £10,000 | £4,600 |
| Total | £160,000 | £54,640.75 |
** The Personal Allowance of £12,500 (£11,850 2018-19) is reduced by £1 for every £2 on income over £100,000. Anyone with income that exceeds £125,000 (£123,700 2018-19) will not have a personal allowance.
Tax Codes
A tax code is used by the employer or pension provider to calculate the amount of tax to deduct from a person’s pay or pension. If they have the wrong tax code a person could end up paying too much or too little tax.
A tax code is usually made up of several numbers and a letter, ones in Scotland will start with an ‘S’ for example: S1250L, S768L.
Tax codes:
| S | Your income or pension is taxed using the rates in Scotland |
| S0T | Your Personal Allowance has been used up, or you’ve started a new job and your employer does not have the details they need to give you a tax code |
| SBR | All your income from this job or pension is taxed at the basic rate in Scotland (usually used if you’ve got more than one job or pension) |
| SD0 | All your income from this job or pension is taxed at the intermediate rate in Scotland (usually used if you’ve got more than one job or pension) |
| SD1 | All your income from this job or pension is taxed at the higher rate in Scotland (usually used if you’ve got more than one job or pension) |
| SD2 | All your income from this job or pension is taxed at the top rate in Scotland (usually used if you’ve got more than one job or pension) |
Living wage in Scotland:
In Scotland, and Glasgow in particular, there are sites listing employers who pay the living wage and also offering vacancies with these employers: