Fiscal drag
calculator
UK tax thresholds have been frozen since April 2021 — and the Treasury just extended that freeze to 2031. See how much extra tax that’s quietly costing you.
£55 billion stealth tax
OBR estimate of how much the threshold freeze will raise by 2030/31.
Frozen since April 2021
The personal allowance and higher-rate threshold haven’t budged in five years.
Locked in until 2031
Extended at Autumn Budget 2025 — the freeze runs to at least April 2031.
Fiscal drag calculator
Tax thresholds were frozen in April 2021 and won’t move until at least 2031. See how much extra tax that’s costing you.
We use this to compare your tax bill under frozen thresholds versus inflation-adjusted thresholds.
What the freeze costs at different salaries
Estimates based on CPI-uprated thresholds versus the frozen 2021/22 baseline.
Common questions
What is fiscal drag?
Fiscal drag is what happens when tax thresholds stay flat while wages and prices rise. As your income creeps up with inflation, more of it gets pulled across the personal allowance line or into the higher-rate band — even though headline tax rates haven't changed. It's a tax rise no politician has to vote for.
When were UK tax thresholds frozen?
The personal allowance and higher-rate threshold were last uprated in April 2021. Rishi Sunak froze them in 2022, the freeze was extended in 2024, and the Autumn Budget 2025 extended it again — they're now scheduled to stay flat until at least April 2031.
How much extra tax is the freeze raising?
The OBR estimates the freeze will raise more than £55 billion a year by 2030/31. Roughly 5.2 million more people will pay basic-rate tax, 4.8 million more will pay higher-rate, and 600,000 more will hit the additional rate — purely because of frozen thresholds.
Can I avoid fiscal drag?
Not entirely — but you can blunt it. Pension salary sacrifice cuts your taxable income (and your NI bill). ISA contributions shelter savings growth from tax. Marriage Allowance can transfer £252 a year. And if you've ever been on an emergency tax code, you may be owed a refund.
Does this calculator account for National Insurance?
We focus on income tax for clarity. NI thresholds are also affected by the freeze, but the rates have changed in recent years (12% → 10% → 8% on the main rate), so a clean year-on-year comparison is messier. The income-tax number alone tells the story.
How to push back
- Max out your pension via salary sacrifice
- Use your full £20,000 ISA allowance
- Claim Marriage Allowance if eligible
- Check your tax code — wrong codes are common
- Buy NI gap years if you have any
Got a tax dispute with HMRC?
Wrong tax code, refused refund, miscalculated bill? You’ve got rights. We’ll help you write the letter that gets it sorted.
Start your free complaint