United Kingdom public holidays 2026, VAT rate and tax data
United Kingdom: VAT rate 20% since 4 Jan 2011; 8 public holidays in 2026 (next: Christmas Day, 25 Dec 2026); corporate tax rate 25%; minimum wage 12.71 GBP/hour; policy interest rate 3.75%; inflation rate (CPI) 3.1%.
13 series, each cited to the official source it was verified against; most recently verified 28 Oct 2026. Currency GBP.
verified recentlyre-verification due soonstaleColour is the age of the last check against the series' own update cycle.
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{ "country": "GB", "series": "vat", "value": 20, "unit": "percent", "effective_from": "2011-01-04", "last_confirmed": "2026-09-11", "source": { "name": "Value Added Tax Act 1994, section 2(1), as amended by the Finance (No…", "url": "https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1994/23/section/2" } }
Excerpt, from the same data as this page. This endpoint is $0.003 a call by x402 or MPP, no signup. With a free key, try POST /v1/answers/vat {"country":"gb","amount":1000}.
United Kingdom public holidays 2026
8 days in 2026; next: Christmas Day on 25 Dec 2026. Official source: GOV.UK official bank holidays list (machine-readable feed), maintained by the Government… · last verified 12 Oct 2026
Fixed by law 4 Confirmed 3 Substitute 1
| Date | Holiday | Status | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 Jan 2026 Thu | New Year's Day | Fixed by law | GOV.UK official bank holidays list… |
| 3 Apr 2026 Fri | Good Friday | Fixed by law | GOV.UK official bank holidays list… |
| 6 Apr 2026 Mon | Easter Monday | Fixed by law | GOV.UK official bank holidays list… |
| 4 May 2026 Mon | Early May bank holiday | Confirmed | GOV.UK official bank holidays list… |
| 25 May 2026 Mon | Spring bank holiday | Confirmed | GOV.UK official bank holidays list… |
| 31 Aug 2026 Mon | Summer bank holiday | Confirmed | GOV.UK official bank holidays list… |
| 25 Dec 2026 Fri | Christmas Day | Fixed by law | GOV.UK official bank holidays list… |
| 28 Dec 2026 Mon | Boxing Day substitute day |
Substitute | GOV.UK official bank holidays list… |
2027 dates already held (8)
| Date | Holiday | Status | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 Jan 2027 Fri | New Year's Day | Fixed by law | GOV.UK official bank holidays list… |
| 26 Mar 2027 Fri | Good Friday | Fixed by law | GOV.UK official bank holidays list… |
| 29 Mar 2027 Mon | Easter Monday | Fixed by law | GOV.UK official bank holidays list… |
| 3 May 2027 Mon | Early May bank holiday | Confirmed | GOV.UK official bank holidays list… |
| 31 May 2027 Mon | Spring bank holiday | Confirmed | GOV.UK official bank holidays list… |
| 30 Aug 2027 Mon | Summer bank holiday | Confirmed | GOV.UK official bank holidays list… |
| 27 Dec 2027 Mon | Christmas Day substitute day |
Substitute | GOV.UK official bank holidays list… |
| 28 Dec 2027 Tue | Boxing Day substitute day |
Substitute | GOV.UK official bank holidays list… |
4 regional calendars add days on top of this national list — see them by region.
Status is read from the record: fixed by law follows from a standing rule (a fixed date or the Easter computus); confirmed is dated in the cited official calendar and not flagged provisional; estimated is provisional or moon-sighting dependent; substitute stands in for a statutory day that fell on a weekend or was moved. Hover a status for the reason.
Every current United Kingdom value
Rate schedules and breakdowns
Value Added Tax (standard rate)
20 percent · in force from 2011-01-04 · Official source: Value Added Tax Act 1994, section 2(1), as amended by the Finance (No. 2) Act… · last verified 11 Sep 2026
Other statutory rates
| band | rate | applies to | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| reduced | 5 | VATA 1994 s.29A(1): VAT on "any supply that is of a description for the time being specified in Schedule 7A ... shall be charged at the rate of 5 per cent". Schedule 7A Part 1 groups: Group 1 Domestic fuel or power; Group 3 Heating equipment, security goods and gas supplies (grant-funded installation or connection); Group 4 Children's car seats; Group 5 Residential conversions; Group 6 Renovation and alteration of dwellings; Group 7 Contraceptive products; Group 8 Welfare advice or information; Group 9 Installation of mobility aids for the elderly; Group 10 Smoking cessation products; Group 11 Caravans; Group 12 Cable-suspended passenger transport systems. | Value Added Tax Act 1994, s.29A and… |
| NOT EXHAUSTIVE as to the items within each Group. Two timing points a caller must not miss. (1) A TEMPORARY extension is in force as at this date: the Value Added Tax (Reduced Rate) (Hospitality and Tourism) Order 2026 (SI 2026/576) applies the same 5% rate to children's meals… | |||
| zero | 0 | VATA 1994 s.30(1)-(2): where a taxable person supplies goods or services of a description specified in Schedule 8, "no VAT shall be charged on the supply" but it is "in all other respects ... a taxable supply". Schedule 8 groups: 1 Food; 2 Sewerage services and water; 3 Books etc.; 4 Talking books for the blind and disabled; 5 Construction of buildings etc.; 6 Protected buildings; 7 International services; 8 Transport; 9 Caravans and houseboats; 10 Gold; 11 Bank notes; 12 Drugs, medicines and aids for the disabled; 13 Imports and exports; 15 Charities; 16 Clothing and footwear; 19 Women's sanitary products; 21 Online marketplaces (deemed supply); 22 Free zones; 23 Energy-saving materials: installation. | Value Added Tax Act 1994, s.30 and… |
| NOT EXHAUSTIVE as to the items within each Group; the index verified as at 1 July 2026 skips Groups 14, 17 and 18, which are repealed. Zero-rated supplies are TAXABLE at a nil rate with full input-tax recovery, expressly distinct from the Schedule 9 exemptions (land, insurance… | |||
Withholding tax rates
0–20% across 3 withholding taxes — no single rate · in force from — · Official source: Income Tax Act 2007, Part 15 (Deduction of income tax at source): s.874 - 'The… · last verified 16 Sep 2026
Rates by payment type
| key | label | rate | applies to | effective from | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| dividends | Dividends - no withholding | 0 | dividends and other company distributions paid by UK-resident companies to any shareholder, resident or non-resident | — | HMRC, 'UK-REIT DT-Individual Notes'… |
| The zero is by ABSENCE of any charging provision: the deduction-at-source regime in ITA 2007 Part 15 simply does not extend to dividends, so there is nothing to relieve under a treaty. ONE EXCEPTION: property income distributions (PIDs) of a UK REIT (and distributions of a PAIF)… | |||||
| interest | Deduction from yearly interest (ITA 2007 s.874) | 20 | payments of yearly interest arising in the UK made by a company, a local authority, or a partnership of which a company is a member, or made by any person to another person whose usual place of abode is outside the UK | — | Income Tax Act 2007, s.874: 'The person… |
| The rate is not a free-standing WHT rate but THE BASIC RATE of income tax, 20% since it is fixed by reference to the rate 'in force for the tax year'. Exceptions in ss.875-888E and Chapter 11 (e.g. interest paid to a UK bank, quoted Eurobond interest) can remove the duty. FROM 6… | |||||
| royalties | Deduction from intellectual property royalties (ITA 2007 s.906) | 20 | royalties and other payments in respect of intellectual property where the usual place of abode of the owner is outside the UK | 2016-09-15 | Income Tax Act 2007, s.906(5): 'The… |
| Rate is tied to the basic rate (20%), and unlike s.874 was NOT moved to the savings basic rate by Finance Act 2026 - royalties stay at the basic rate. The effective_from shown is the date legislation.gov.uk records for the Finance Act 2016 substitution of the current widened… | |||||
Income Tax bands (England, Wales and Northern Ireland)
0–45% across 4 bands · in force from 2026-04-06 · Official source: HMRC / GOV.UK, 'Income Tax rates and Personal Allowances' and 'Rates and… · last verified 20 Jul 2026
| min | max | rate |
|---|---|---|
| 0 | 12570 | 0 |
| 12571 | 50270 | 20 |
| 50271 | 125140 | 40 |
| 125141 | — | 45 |
Statutory social-insurance contributions
0–15% across 8 contribution branches · in force from 2026-04-06 · Official source: HMRC, "Rates and thresholds for employers 2026 to 2027" (published 30 January… · last verified 8 Aug 2026
| key | label | rate total | rate employee | rate employer | unit | base | currency |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| class_1_primary_main | Class 1 primary contributions — main primary percentage (employee National Insurance) | — | 8 | — | percent | Gross earnings in the pay period between the Primary Threshold (£242/week, £1,048/month, £12,570/year) and the Upper Earnings Limit (£967/week, £4,189/month, £50,270/year). Computed per pay period on that period's earnings, not cumulatively. | GBP |
| The employer pays a corresponding secondary contribution but on a DIFFERENT base — from a much lower threshold (£417/month) and with no upper ceiling — so there is no meaningful single combined rate for this band. Category letter A (the ordinary private-sector default). Other… | |||||||
| class_1_primary_additional | Class 1 primary contributions — additional primary percentage (employee NI above the Upper Earnings Limit) | — | 2 | — | percent | Gross earnings in the pay period ABOVE the Upper Earnings Limit (£967/week, £4,189/month, £50,270/year). Uncapped above that point. | GBP |
| This is the single most-mishandled feature of UK payroll. The UEL is NOT a contribution ceiling — liability does not stop, it steps down from 8% to 2% and then continues without limit. An engine that treats £50,270 as a cap in the continental sense under-deducts by 2% of every… | |||||||
| class_1_secondary | Class 1 secondary contributions (employer National Insurance) | 15 | 0 | 15 | percent | Gross earnings in the pay period above the Secondary Threshold (£96/week, £417/month, £5,000/year). No upper limit. | GBP |
| Employer-only; never a payroll deduction from the employee. Two traps. (1) The Secondary Threshold (£417/month) sits far BELOW the employee Primary Threshold (£1,048/month). Employer liability starts at a much lower earnings point than employee liability — any engine using one… | |||||||
| class_1a | Class 1A contributions (employer NICs on benefits in kind and termination awards) | 15 | 0 | 15 | percent | Cash equivalent of taxable benefits in kind reported on form P11D that are left out of account for Class 1 purposes, plus qualifying termination awards above £30,000 and sporting testimonial payments. No ceiling. | GBP |
| Employer-only and uncapped. Critically, this is NOT a payroll-period deduction — it is settled annually after the tax year ends, on form P11D(b), payable by 22 July following the year (19 July if not paying electronically). An engine that models it as a per-period cost will… | |||||||
| class_1b | Class 1B contributions (employer NICs on PAYE Settlement Agreements) | 15 | 0 | 15 | percent | The aggregate of (a) general earnings included in a PAYE Settlement Agreement that would otherwise attract Class 1 or Class 1A, and (b) the total income tax the employer is accountable for under that agreement. Charging NICs on the tax itself is deliberate. No ceiling. | GBP |
| Employer-only, and only where a PSA is in place — not a routine branch for an ordinary employee, but included because it is mandatory once a PSA exists. The distinctive feature is that the base is grossed up: the employer pays 15% on the settled earnings AND on the income tax it… | |||||||
| apprenticeship_levy | Apprenticeship Levy | 0.5 | 0 | 0.5 | percent | The employer's annual pay bill — the total earnings on which it is liable to pay secondary Class 1 contributions (Finance Act 2016 s.100), assessed before the Secondary Threshold is applied. Charged only to the extent 0.5% of the pay bill exceeds the levy allowance. No ceiling. | GBP |
| Employer-only, UK-wide, reported monthly through the Employment Payment Summary. The widely quoted "£3 million pay bill threshold" appears NOWHERE in the statute — it is arithmetic (£15,000 ÷ 0.5%) derived from the s.101 allowance. Modelling it as a statutory cliff-edge is wrong… | |||||||
| auto_enrolment_pension | Automatic enrolment workplace pension — statutory minimum contributions | 8 | 5 | 3 | percent | Qualifying earnings: gross pay (including overtime, bonuses and statutory pay) BETWEEN the lower limit of the qualifying earnings band, £6,240/year (£520/month, £120/week), and the upper limit, £50,270/year (£4,189/month, £967/week). Only the slice between those two figures is contributable, not full gross. | GBP |
| Mandatory for the employer (duty to enrol), opt-outable by the employee — so it is a statutory minimum, not a fixed rate. Four traps. (1) The £10,000/year earnings trigger (£833/month, £192/week) is NOT where contributions begin. It is only the test for whether the employer must… | |||||||
| employers_liability_insurance | Employers' Liability Compulsory Insurance | — | 0 | — | percent | Not a percentage of payroll. A commercial insurance premium underwritten per employer on trade classification, claims history, headcount and wage roll. | GBP |
| Included deliberately so the branch is visibly present rather than silently missing. The UK has NO state employment-accident insurance branch financed by a payroll contribution — the function performed in most of Europe by an employer-only accident-insurance rate is discharged… | |||||||
Late-payment interest (Late Payment of Commercial Debts Act)
11.75 percent · in force from 2026-01-01 · Official source: Derived from the Bank of England base rate (this API's GB policy-rate series)… · last verified 13 Oct 2026 derived
Resolved rates
| key | label | spread | value | article | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| statutory | Statutory interest on qualifying commercial debts | 8 | 11.75 | Late Payment of Commercial Debts (Interest) Act 1998, s.6 | Late Payment of Commercial Debts… |
VAT registration threshold
90000 GBP · in force from 2024-04-01 · Official source: GOV.UK - VAT registration, when to register: you must register if 'your total… · last verified 11 Sep 2026
Thresholds
| key | label | value | basis | effective from |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| compulsory | Compulsory registration (backward look) | 90000 | total taxable turnover in the last 12 months | 2024-04-01 |
| forward-look | Compulsory registration (forward look) | 90000 | taxable turnover expected to exceed this within the NEXT 30 DAYS ALONE | 2024-04-01 |
Tax filing deadlines
11 deadline rules · in force from — · Official source: 11 rules, each cited to its own official source; series-level citation is the… · last verified 28 Oct 2026
| key | tax | obligation | label | frequency | applies to | confidence | last confirmed | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| vat-return-quarterly | vat | return_and_payment | VAT return and payment — quarterly accounting periods (online) | quarterly | VAT-registered businesses submitting their return online; 'This is also the deadline for paying HMRC.' | primary | 2026-10-28 | Submit a VAT Return |
| VAT quarters are staggered per business (stagger groups ending Mar/Jun/Sep/Dec, Apr/Jul/Oct/Jan, May/Aug/Nov/Feb); pass year_end to align to the business's stagger. GOV.UK says 'usually': the Annual Accounting Scheme and VAT Payments on Account have different deadlines and are… | ||||||||
| vat-return-monthly | vat | return_and_payment | VAT return and payment — monthly accounting periods (online) | monthly | VAT-registered businesses on monthly accounting periods, submitting online. | primary | 2026-10-28 | Submit a VAT Return |
| Same 'one calendar month and 7 days' rule applied to monthly accounting periods; the GOV.UK page states the rule per 'accounting period' without distinguishing length. Monthly periods are by HMRC agreement (typically repayment traders). | ||||||||
| paye-payment-monthly-electronic | paye | payment | Employer PAYE payment — monthly payers (electronic) | monthly | Employers who pay HMRC monthly, by an electronic method. | primary | 2026-10-28 | Pay employers' PAYE |
| Tax months run 6th to 5th; the period ends on the 5th and payment is due the 22nd of that same calendar month (e.g. tax month 6 Sep–5 Oct due 22 Oct). Cheque payments by post: 19th (separate rule). The Full Payment Submission (FPS) is due on or before each payday, which is not a… | ||||||||
| paye-payment-quarterly-electronic | paye | payment | Employer PAYE payment — quarterly payers (electronic) | quarterly | Employers allowed to pay HMRC quarterly, by an electronic method. | primary | 2026-10-28 | Pay employers' PAYE |
| Quarters end 5 July, 5 October, 5 January, 5 April. HMRC's Employer further guide (CWG2) says quarterly payment is possible if average monthly payments are estimated below £1,500. | ||||||||
| paye-payment-cheque | paye | payment | Employer PAYE payment — cheque by post (monthly payers) | monthly | Employers paying by cheque through the post. | primary | 2026-10-28 | Pay employers' PAYE |
| The 19th applies equally to quarterly payers paying by cheque (19 July, 19 October, 19 January, 19 April). Modelled for monthly payers only. | ||||||||
| cit-return | cit | return | Company Tax Return (CT600) filing | annual | Companies within the charge to Corporation Tax. | primary | 2026-10-28 | Company Tax Returns |
| Modelled as the last day of the 12th month after the month the accounting period ends in, which equals '12 months after' for month-end year ends. For non-month-end year ends the statutory date is the same calendar day 12 months later. | ||||||||
| cit-payment | cit | payment | Corporation Tax payment — companies not in instalments | annual | Companies with 'taxable profits of up to £1.5 million'. | primary | 2026-10-28 | Pay your Corporation Tax bill |
| Year end 31 December gives 1 October. The previous-business-day roll is a practical clearing instruction and does not apply to Faster Payments, which can reach HMRC on weekends and bank holidays. | ||||||||
| cit-instalments-large-in-period | cit | provisional_payment | Corporation Tax quarterly instalments 1 and 2 — large companies (12-month period) | semiannual | Large companies: profits 'at an annual rate of more than £1.5 million but less than £20 million', 12-month accounting period. | primary | 2026-10-28 | Pay Corporation Tax if you're a large… |
| Four equal instalments: 6 months 13 days after the first day of the period (14th of month 7), then 3-monthly (14th of month 10), then 14 days after period end and 3 months 14 days after period end (separate rules). The four were split across rules because nth_month_of_year… | ||||||||
| cit-instalment-large-3 | cit | provisional_payment | Corporation Tax instalment 3 — large companies (14 days after period end) | annual | Large companies (profits >£1.5m and <£20m), 12-month accounting period. | primary | 2026-10-28 | Pay Corporation Tax if you're a large… |
| Year end 31 December gives 14 January. | ||||||||
| cit-instalment-large-4 | cit | provisional_payment | Corporation Tax instalment 4 — large companies (3 months 14 days after period end) | annual | Large companies (profits >£1.5m and <£20m), 12-month accounting period. | primary | 2026-10-28 | Pay Corporation Tax if you're a large… |
| Year end 31 December gives 14 April (GOV.UK example: 'final payment 14 April 2027'). Modelled as last day of the 3rd month after period end + 14 days; exact for month-end year ends. | ||||||||
| cit-instalments-very-large | cit | provisional_payment | Corporation Tax quarterly instalments — very large companies (12-month period) | quarterly | Very large companies: profits over £20 million, 12-month accounting period. | primary | 2026-10-28 | Pay Corporation Tax if you're a very… |
| The £20m threshold is divided by the number of associated companies (GOV.UK guidance). Shorter accounting periods follow different rules. | ||||||||
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Compare each figure with the other European countries: Policy interest rate · VAT rate · Minimum wage · Public holidays · Inflation rate (CPI) · Corporate tax rate · Withholding tax rates · Income tax rates · Social contributions · Late-payment interest rate · Statutory interest rate · VAT registration threshold · Tax filing deadlines
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