HMRC Personal Allowance Increase: Petition Passes 50,000 Signatures

A campaign calling for the UK Personal Allowance to rise from £12,570 to £18,000 has passed 50,000 signatures, as pressure grows over the impact of frozen Income Tax thresholds.

The HMRC Personal Allowance increase campaign is commonly described in relation to HMRC because it concerns the tax-free allowance, but it is not an HMRC campaign. It is an official UK Parliament petition created by Mike Haynes.

As of 10 August 2026, the official Parliament petition had reached 50,407 signatures, taking it beyond the halfway point towards the 100,000 signatures needed for it to be considered for a parliamentary debate.

The petition remains open until 30 September 2026.

Personal Allowance Petition Passes 50,000 Signatures

The campaign was launched on 31 March 2026 and calls for the standard Personal Allowance to increase by £5,430, from £12,570 to £18,000.

Campaigners argue that keeping the allowance frozen while wages and other sources of income rise means taxpayers gradually pay tax on a larger proportion of their earnings.

The petition summarises its case simply:

“We want to keep some more of our own money.”

The campaign focuses on three main concerns:

• the Personal Allowance has remained at £12,570 since the 2021/22 tax year;
• wages have continued to rise while the tax-free threshold has stayed unchanged; and
• more workers and pensioners can therefore become liable for Income Tax through fiscal drag.

Support has continued despite the Government already rejecting the proposed £18,000 threshold.

The petition crossed 10,000 signatures earlier in the year, which required the Government to issue a formal response. Reaching 50,000 does not trigger a separate parliamentary process, but it shows the campaign has moved substantially closer to the next important threshold of 100,000.

Why Campaigners Want the Allowance Increased to £18,000?

The standard Personal Allowance determines how much income most people can receive before they start paying Income Tax.

For the 2026/27 tax year, the current Income Tax rates confirm that the standard allowance remains £12,570.

The threshold has been held at that level since the 2021/22 tax year. Rather than rising with inflation, it is now set to remain at £12,570 through the 2030/31 tax year.

The Government’s threshold freeze to 2031 means the current level applies until 5 April 2031.

When earnings rise but tax thresholds remain unchanged, more income can become taxable and people who previously earned below the Personal Allowance can move into the Income Tax system. This effect is commonly known as fiscal drag.

The difference between the existing and proposed allowance is substantial:

HMRC figures illustrate the scale of the wider change in the taxpaying population. Its latest taxpayer statistics estimate that the number of Income Tax payers increased from 36.7 million in 2023/24 and is projected to reach 40.8 million in 2026/27.

HMRC says population and income growth combined with frozen Income Tax thresholds are among the main reasons for the increase.

The effect is not limited to people in employment. Rising pension income alongside unchanged allowances can also increase State Pension tax pressure for retirees whose taxable income approaches or exceeds the Personal Allowance.

Minimum Wage Workers Can Already Exceed the Tax-free Threshold

The petition also raises concerns about people on the minimum wage becoming liable for Income Tax as statutory pay rises while the Personal Allowance stays frozen.

For many workers, that issue is already relevant.

The current minimum wage rates set the National Living Wage for workers aged 21 and over at £12.71 an hour from 1 April 2026.

At that rate, a worker earning £12.71 an hour would reach £12,570 of gross annual earnings after working roughly 19 hours a week across 52 weeks.

A person working 37.5 hours a week at the same hourly rate would earn about £24,785 a year before tax and other adjustments, well above the standard Personal Allowance.

The practical effect can vary because an individual’s Income Tax position may depend on:

• the number of hours worked;
• income from more than one job;
• pension or investment income;
• tax reliefs and allowances;
• the person’s tax code; and
• other taxable income received during the year.

This means minimum-wage workers should not automatically be assumed to have the same tax liability, even when their headline hourly rate is identical.

Government Rejects Proposed £18,000 Personal Allowance

The petition’s rise in support comes despite HM Treasury rejecting the proposal after it crossed the 10,000-signature mark.

The formal Government response was published on 5 May 2026.

It stated:

“The Government currently has no plans to increase the Personal Allowance to £18,000.”

HM Treasury estimated that increasing the Personal Allowance to £18,000 would cost the Exchequer more than £40 billion each year.

The Government’s main arguments include:

• the proposed increase would create a significant annual fiscal cost;
• higher earners would, on average, receive a larger cash benefit than some lower earners;
• lower tax receipts would reduce revenue available for public services; and
• the Government has already chosen to maintain the current threshold through 2030/31.

Its position remains that keeping thresholds at current levels helps raise revenue needed for public services and economic stability.

The Government has nevertheless said that taxes remain under review as part of the normal policymaking process.

What Happens if the Petition Reaches 100,000 Signatures?

The next major milestone is 100,000 signatures.

Under the parliamentary petitions system, a petition reaching that level is considered for debate in Parliament. Reaching 100,000 signatures does not automatically guarantee that MPs will debate it.

At 50,407 signatures, the campaign needs another 49,593 signatures to reach that threshold.

The process can be summarised as follows:

• 10,000 signatures: the Government is expected to issue a formal response;
• 50,000 signatures: no separate parliamentary trigger applies, but the campaign has passed its halfway point;
• 100,000 signatures: the petition becomes eligible to be considered for a parliamentary debate;
• 30 September 2026: the petition closes to new signatures.

Whether the Government ultimately changes the Personal Allowance is a separate question. The current £12,570 threshold is already legislated through the 2030/31 tax year, and HM Treasury’s formal response makes clear that it does not currently support increasing it to £18,000.

For now, the significance of the campaign lies in the level of support it is attracting as frozen thresholds bring more workers and pensioners into the Income Tax system.