Eli5 Do tax rates kick in at each cutoff? Or if you earn a set amount your full income is taxed at the same rate

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Just wondering when looking at jobs putting me into higher tax brackets, if tax was say 20% for earning £30k, and £31k a year was taxed at 25%, would my first 30k of income be taxed at the 20% or my full salary taxed at 25%? And if so then how do you ever make jumping up to the next tax band viable?

In: Economics

6 Answers

Anonymous 0 Comments

Yes, you’re taxed IN brackets, not ACCORDING TO brackets. The higher rates only trigger for the portion ***in*** that bracket. Exactly like you said – only the bit above £30k would be taxed more.

What *can* happen is that you get other benefits (say discounts on essential stuff), and earning a more can disqualify you from that. So then your spendable income goes down, not because you’re paying extra tax, but because you’re receiving fewer benefits.

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