Use this calculator to estimate how much of your savings interest is covered by your
Personal Savings Allowance and starting rate for savings, and how much tax you may need to
pay.
Estimated tax due
£100
Based on £35,000 of other income and £1,500 of savings interest
Basic-rate savings tax applies
Tax-free interest
£1,000
Covered by your available allowances
Taxable interest
£500
The portion not covered by tax-free allowances
PSA available
£1,000
Used £1,000 of allowance
Savings tax rate
20%
Rate applied to the taxable part of your interest
Allowance breakdown
See how your savings interest is split between unused Personal Allowance, the starting rate,
the Personal Savings Allowance, and any taxable balance.
Personal Savings Allowance
Taxable savings interest
Category
Treatment
Amount
Personal Allowance used on savings
Tax-free
£0
Starting rate for savings
Tax-free
£0
Personal Savings Allowance
Tax-free
£1,000
Taxable savings interest
Taxed
£500
Total savings interest
£1,500
What this means for you
With £35,000 of other income and £1,500 of savings interest, around £1,000 of your interest would be tax free under current UK rules. That leaves about £500 taxable, so your estimated tax on savings interest would be £100.
Your Personal Savings Allowance for this estimate is £1,000, and £1,000 of it is used by your savings interest.
The taxable part of your savings interest is charged like this:
£500 at 20% = £100
Assumptions
Estimates use standard UK rules for Personal Allowance, the starting rate for savings, and
the Personal Savings Allowance for the 2026/27 tax year.
This version does not include dividends, property income, foreign savings, Marriage
Allowance, Blind Person's Allowance, or other specialist tax adjustments.
What is the Personal Savings Allowance?
The Personal Savings Allowance, often shortened to PSA, lets many UK savers earn some
savings interest tax free outside an ISA. For the 2026/27 tax year, basic-rate taxpayers can
usually earn up to £1,000 of savings interest tax free, higher-rate taxpayers up to
£500,
and additional-rate taxpayers get no PSA.
The PSA is only one part of the picture. Some savers also have unused Personal Allowance or
qualify for the starting rate for savings, which can shelter extra interest before any tax is
due.
How the starting rate for savings works
The starting rate for savings can make up to £5,000 of savings interest tax free if
your other income is low enough. Every £1 of other income above your Personal Allowance
reduces that £5,000 starting-rate band by £1.
With a standard Personal Allowance of £12,570, the starting rate is fully used up once
other income reaches £17,570. If your other income is below that, the starting rate can
be a major part of your tax-free savings interest.
How tax on savings interest is worked out
This calculator works through the rules in the same order most savers think about them: first
unused Personal Allowance, then the starting rate for savings, then the Personal Savings
Allowance. Any interest left after those tax-free amounts is treated as taxable savings
interest.
Taxable savings interest can still span more than one tax band, so the calculator estimates
the tax due by looking at where that remaining interest sits once your other income has
already used the lower bands.
Personal Allowance vs starting rate vs PSA
These three rules do different jobs. Personal Allowance is the general income tax-free
allowance. The starting rate for savings is a savings-specific 0% band for people with low
other income. The PSA is a separate tax-free amount for savings interest that depends on
whether you are a basic-rate, higher-rate, or additional-rate taxpayer.
Because they stack in that order, two people with the same amount of savings interest can get
very different outcomes if their other income is different.
What this calculator assumes
This calculator uses standard Personal Allowance rules, the starting rate for savings, and
the Personal Savings Allowance for the 2026/27 tax year, which runs from 6 April 2026 to 5
April 2027.
It does not include dividends, property income, foreign savings, Marriage Allowance, Blind
Person's Allowance, or more complex Self Assessment edge cases. Use it as a practical
guide, not as personalised tax advice.
Frequently Asked Questions
It depends on your unused Personal Allowance, whether the starting rate for savings
applies, and your Personal Savings Allowance. This calculator estimates how those rules
combine for the 2026/27 tax year.
The Personal Savings Allowance lets many savers earn some interest tax free outside an
ISA. Basic-rate taxpayers can usually get £1,000, higher-rate taxpayers
£500, and additional-rate taxpayers £0.
The starting rate for savings can make up to £5,000 of savings interest tax free
if your other income is low enough. Every £1 of other income above your Personal
Allowance reduces that tax-free starting-rate band by £1.
Interest is usually paid without tax being taken off first. If you owe tax, HMRC may
collect it by adjusting your tax code or through Self Assessment, depending on your
circumstances.
No. This version focuses on other taxable income and savings interest only. Dividend
income, property income, foreign savings, and other specialist adjustments are outside the
current scope.
More UK Financial Calculators
Want to estimate how much interest your savings could earn? Try our interest calculator.
Planning for a target amount? See our savings goal calculator. Working out how much income you
have before savings tax comes into play? Use our salary calculator. If you are comparing cash
saving with pension saving, the pension tax relief calculator is a useful counterpart too. If
you want to model tax-free saving inside an ISA wrapper, try the Cash ISA calculator as well.