A personal finance expert has issued a warning to earners taking home more than £12,570 per year. UK taxpayers face varying levels of taxation based on their income, and it's important to be aware of how the various bands work - and ultimately how much you get to keep.

Laura Suter, director of personal finance at AJ Bell, shared things that people in various pay brackets need to be aware of, including those earning more than the personal allowance for the 2025/2026 tax year (£12,570). "If your earnings hit this level there are a few things you need to consider," Ms Suter said. The first is how your savings are taxed.

At the lower end of the scale, the £5,000 starting rate for savings - the additional amount you can receive in cash interest tax free above the personal savings allowance - begins to taper off as soon as earnings go above the £12,570 personal allowance, up to £17,570."

"Beyond that point, you can earn £1,000 a year in savings interest before being hit with tax, for basic rate taxpayers ," the finance guru explained.

"If £5,000 of savings interest that was previously tax free now becomes taxable, it could cost you £1,000 a year in tax. You may also need to consider the marriage allowance if you are the lower-earning half of a couple.

"This allowance is lost once you start earning more than £12,570 and become a basic rate taxpayer," Ms Suter explained. "In the current year the marriage allowance is worth up to £252 a year."

Ms Suter highlighted the phenomenon of workers getting pay rises, only to find the cash boost dampened by moving up the tax bands.

"The UK tax system is very taxing, and lots of people celebrating a pay rise may later find that the pay boost has a sting in the tail," she said.

"Once people hit different earnings thresholds they are met with tax cliff edges, allowances being slashed and tax rates jumping - as well as valuable benefits being chopped.

"The situation has become so complex that the OBR has launched an investigation into the impact that the complicated - and often baffling - tax system has on people's pay and their incentives to work.

"For many people, once they hit certain thresholds they could lose benefits worth more than their pay rise - which clearly acts as a barrier to progressing at work or taking on that next promotion.

Ms Suter says that in addtion, "the combination of frozen tax thresholds, reduced tax allowances and rising wages has dragged more people into paying tax".

"Pensions are your friend in this situation, as paying into a pension can reduce your taxable income and bring you back below many of these thresholds - meaning you either pay lower tax rates or you get back benefits that would have been lost."

She also flagged important tax rules faced by those earning higher amounts, such as student loan considerations for those earning £25,000 or £28,470, and people of State Pension age hitting the £35,000 bracket.

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