To be in the top 10% of UK taxpayers you need a total income of £67,400 a year. The top 5% starts at £93,600, the top 3% at £118,000, the top 2% at £145,000 and the top 1% at £207,000. These are HMRC's own figures for 2023 to 2024, the latest it has published, and they are measured before tax.
Want to see where your own income lands? The income percentile calculator uses the same data and gives your rank as you type.
| Where you rank | Income before tax | Income after tax (HMRC) | Change on 2022 to 2023 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Top 1% | £207,000 | £134,000 | +3.0% |
| Top 2% | £145,000 | £98,300 | +2.1% |
| Top 3% | £118,000 | £83,200 | +2.6% |
| Top 4% | £102,000 | £76,100 | +2.1% |
| Top 5% | £93,600 | £70,600 | +3.4% |
| Top 10% | £67,400 | £54,300 | +4.0% |
| Top 15% | £56,000 | £47,200 | +4.3% |
| Top 20% | £49,900 | £43,000 | +4.2% |
| Top 25% | £45,000 | £39,000 | +4.7% |
| Top 30% | £40,800 | £35,600 | +4.3% |
| Top 40% | £34,500 | £30,400 | +4.9% |
| Median (50th) | £29,700 | £26,600 | +4.6% |
Source: HMRC Statistics about personal incomes, Table 3.1a, tax year 2023 to 2024. UK individuals with some Income Tax liability. The after-tax column uses 2023 to 2024 tax rules, not 2026/27.
The thresholds climb slowly at first and then steeply. Going from the median at £29,700 to the 90th percentile at £67,400 takes you through 40 places. The last nine places, from the 90th to the 99th, need another £139,600. The top 1% threshold is 7 times the median.
The lowest incomes in the data look like this:
| Share of taxpayers | Earn up to (before tax) | Earn up to (after tax, HMRC) | Change on 2022 to 2023 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bottom 40% | £25,800 | £23,400 | +4.5% |
| Bottom 30% | £22,500 | £20,700 | +4.7% |
| Bottom 25% | £20,800 | £19,300 | +4.0% |
| Bottom 20% | £19,000 | £17,900 | +2.7% |
| Bottom 10% | £15,700 | £15,200 | +1.3% |
Read it as: the bottom 40% of taxpayers earn up to the figure shown before tax. The data only covers people with some Income Tax liability, so very low earners who pay no tax are not in these figures.
Here is where round-number incomes sit on HMRC's scale. We work out the position by drawing a straight line between HMRC's published percentile points.
| Income | Percentile | Roughly |
|---|---|---|
| £25,000 | 38th | top 62% |
| £30,000 | 51st | top 49% |
| £40,000 | 69th | top 31% |
| £50,000 | 80th | top 20% |
| £60,000 | 87th | top 13% |
| £75,000 | 92nd | top 8% |
| £100,000 | 96th | top 4% |
| £125,140 | 97th | top 3% |
| £150,000 | 98th | top 2% |
| £200,000 | 99th | top 1% |
Calculated by Salary Checker UK from HMRC Table 3.1a, 2023 to 2024. Positions between published points are estimated.
About 4% of UK taxpayers had a total income above £100,000 in 2023 to 2024. HMRC's 96th percentile is £102,000, so £100,000 sits just below the top 4% line. It's also where the tax system changes: your Personal Allowance falls by £1 for every £2 of income above £100,000 and is gone at £125,140, according to GOV.UK. Our £100,000 to £125,000 page shows take-home across that band.
HMRC's figures count all income subject to tax: employment, self-employment, pensions, savings, dividends and rental income. Someone on a £60,000 salary with £5,000 of dividends sits at £65,000 on this scale. The data also covers individuals, not households. Two people each on £60,000 are each in the top 13%, even though their household income of £120,000 would be much higher on a household measure.
You may have seen a higher median salary elsewhere. The Office for National Statistics reports £40,911 for full-time employees in April 2026. That covers full-time employees only. HMRC's midpoint of £29,700 covers every individual with Income Tax to pay, including part-time workers, people with small incomes and pensioners, so it sits lower. They answer different questions, and neither is wrong. Our good salary guide uses the ONS figures for full-time pay by region, age and industry.
HMRC updated the table in April 2026 to add the 2023 to 2024 tax year. Incomes have risen since then, so today's thresholds are probably a little higher than the figures above. Between 2022 to 2023 and 2023 to 2024 the top 10% threshold rose 4.0% and the top 1% threshold rose 3.0%. We'll update this page when HMRC publishes the next tax year.
Quick answers on the top 1%, 5% and 10% and what the numbers include.
HMRC's figures for 2023 to 2024 put the top 1% threshold at £207,000 of total income before tax. That means 99% of taxpayers had less. The figure counts all taxable income, not salary alone.
The top 5% starts at £93,600 a year before tax, based on HMRC's 2023 to 2024 data. The top 3% starts at £118,000 and the top 2% at £145,000.
You need about £67,400 a year before tax to be in the top 10% of UK taxpayers. After tax, HMRC's figure for the same point is £54,300, on 2023 to 2024 tax rules.
Around 4% of UK taxpayers. HMRC's 96th percentile is £102,000, so £100,000 falls just short of the top 4%. This counts total income, so it includes more than salary.
All income that is subject to tax: employment, self-employment, pensions, savings, dividends and property income. A salary of £60,000 with £5,000 of dividends counts as £65,000.
HMRC's figure of £29,700 covers every individual with some Income Tax liability, including part-time workers and pensioners. The ONS median of £40,911 covers full-time employees only. They measure different groups.
All income thresholds are from HMRC's Survey of Personal Incomes for the 2023 to 2024 tax year. The ONS figure is used only to explain the difference between the two measures.
Figures cover UK individuals with some Income Tax liability and total income before tax unless stated. Positions between HMRC's published points are estimated by straight-line interpolation. Compiled by Salary Checker UK, last updated 28 October 2026. This is general information, not financial advice.