These are the gross income points for UK taxpayers in the 2023 to 2024 tax year, the latest HMRC has published, from its Survey of Personal Incomes. Pay has risen since, so today's thresholds are likely a little higher. They rank individuals before tax, not households, so a couple with two average salaries sits well above either person on their own.
| Rank | What it means | Gross income |
|---|---|---|
| Top 1% | An unusually high income | £207,000 |
| Top 2% | Upper-income benchmark | £145,000 |
| Top 3% | High-income benchmark | £118,000 |
| Top 5% | Well above most taxpayers | £93,600 |
| Top 10% | A strong upper-income marker | £67,400 |
| Top 20% | Into the top fifth of UK incomes | £50,000 |
| Top 25% | Above about three quarters | £45,000 |
| Midpoint (50th) | Halfway up the taxpayer range | £29,700 |
For the full list of thresholds from the top 1% down to the median, with how much each has changed in a year, see our page on UK income percentiles.
There's no single official definition, but two figures matter. In percentile terms, an income above £67,400 puts you in the top 10% of taxpayers, which most people would call a high earner. In tax terms, £100,000 is the line that bites: above it you start losing your personal allowance at £1 for every £2 earned, creating an effective 60% marginal rate up to £125,140. So crossing £100k feels less rewarding than the headline suggests.
Two people on the same income can be in very different positions. Someone earning £45,000 in a low-cost area with no commute keeps more of it than someone on £45,000 in London with a £250-a-month rail pass. Rank tells you where you sit nationally; it doesn't tell you what the money is worth to you. For that, look at your real hourly wage after commuting and unpaid time, or see the salary you'd need to buy a home in each UK city, which swings from £26,000 to £260,000 depending on where you live.
This ranking is per person. Household income is a different measure and usually much higher, because most households have more than one earner or other income. If you're comparing against figures you've seen for "average household income", they won't line up with your individual rank here.
You may have seen a higher "median salary" elsewhere on this site. The ONS figure of £40,911 (April 2026) covers full-time employees only. The £29,700 midpoint on this page comes from HMRC data on all individual taxpayers, which includes part-time workers, people with small incomes and pensioners, so it sits lower. Neither is wrong. They answer different questions: "where do I rank among full-time employees?" and "where do I rank among everyone who pays tax?". Our good salary guide uses the ONS full-time figures.
To see your take-home pay at any of these income levels, including tax, National Insurance, student loan and pension, use the main salary calculator.
The questions people ask most about where their pay ranks.
Around £67,400 gross. That means 90% of taxpayers earn less than you. The top 5% starts near £93,600 and the top 1% at about £207,000.
The taxpayer midpoint is around £29,700, so above that puts you in the top half. £35,000 to £45,000 is comfortably above the taxpayer midpoint, and over £50,000 puts you in roughly the top fifth. Location and outgoings change what "good" feels like.
Above £67,400 puts you in the top 10% of taxpayers, which most would call a high earner. £100,000 is the tax line where you start losing your personal allowance and hit a 60% effective rate on the next £25,140.
Around 20%, so an income at that level puts you in the top fifth. Over £50,270 also means part of your pay is taxed at the 40% higher rate in England, Wales and Northern Ireland.
Individuals. It ranks individual gross income before tax using HMRC's Survey of Personal Incomes. Household income is a separate, usually higher measure.
Percentile points use published HMRC data for individual taxpayer income. Take-home estimates elsewhere on the site use confirmed 2026/27 HMRC rates.
Percentile figures are rounded reference points for individual gross income among UK taxpayers, not an exact live ranking. They're for general information, not financial advice.