{"id":121596,"date":"2026-06-11T07:00:00","date_gmt":"2026-06-11T06:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/en.econostrum.info\/uk\/?p=121596"},"modified":"2026-06-11T00:59:16","modified_gmt":"2026-06-10T23:59:16","slug":"more-than-a-million-workers-could-gain-tax","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/en.econostrum.info\/uk\/more-than-a-million-workers-could-gain-tax\/","title":{"rendered":"More Than a Million Workers Could Gain From Proposed Tax Relief"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

A parliamentary petition is calling for a new tax-free allowance for people with second jobs, arguing that many workers are taking on additional employment to cope with higher living costs. If introduced, the measure would create a separate allowance of \u00a36,285<\/strong> for income earned from a second job.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Supporters of the proposal say the change would help more than one million workers retain a larger share of their earnings. The campaign comes as the UK personal allowance remains frozen, with the government confirming that the current threshold will stay in place until at least 2031.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The petition focuses on workers whose personal allowance is already used through their main employment. Under current rules, income from a second job is generally taxed immediately <\/strong>once the personal allowance has been allocated elsewhere.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Campaign Seeks Dedicated Allowance for Second-Job Income<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

According to the parliamentary petition <\/a>cited by regional and national UK media reports, between 1.26 million and 1.35 million people in the UK hold second jobs. The campaign argues that many of these workers have taken on additional employment because of rising living costs and essential household expenses.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The proposal calls for a dedicated tax-free allowance of \u00a36,285 for second-job earnings. Campaigners say the measure would operate alongside, rather than replace, the existing personal allowance available for primary employment<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

According to the petition, the policy would benefit a range of workers, including key workers, part-time employees, carers, students, and low- to middle-income households. The campaign states that allowing people to keep more of their second-job income could reduce financial pressure on households while recognizing additional participation in the workforce.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The suggested allowance is equivalent to half of the current personal allowance. At present, individuals can earn up to \u00a312,570 annually before paying income tax<\/strong> through the standard personal allowance system. The petition also argues that the change could encourage employment by increasing the value of additional work. Supporters are currently seeking public backing through the Parliament petition process.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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New second-job tax allowance could benefit over 1 million UK workers \u00a9Shutterstock<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Current Tax Rules and Potential Savings Outlined<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Under the proposal, a taxpayer paying the basic rate of income tax could save up to \u00a31,257 per year. That figure is based on the current basic tax rate of 20 percent applied to the proposed \u00a36,285 allowance.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

According to the reports, income tax rules in England, Wales, and Northern Ireland currently apply a basic rate of 20 percent to taxable earnings up to \u00a350,270 after allowances <\/a>have been taken into account. Earnings <\/strong>between \u00a350,271 and \u00a3125,140 are generally subject to the higher rate of 40 percent, while income above \u00a3125,140 falls into the additional rate band of 45 percent.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The debate arrives against the backdrop of a continuing freeze in the personal allowance. Labour had previously indicated that the allowance could begin rising again from 2028. Yet Chancellor Rachel Reeves announced in the Autumn Budget 2025<\/strong> <\/a>that the freeze would remain in place until at least 2031, according to the reports.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The existing system also contains a reduction mechanism for higher earners. Once income <\/strong>exceeds \u00a3100,000, the personal allowance begins to decrease. Taxpayers lose \u00a31 of allowance for every \u00a32 earned above that threshold, and the allowance is fully withdrawn when income reaches \u00a3125,140. For now, the proposed second-job allowance remains the subject of a parliamentary petition, with campaigners continuing to seek support for the measure.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A growing campaign is backing a new tax allowance for second-job workers, with supporters arguing it could ease pressure from rising living costs. The proposal may affect more than a million taxpayers across the UK as momentum builds behind the plan.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":10,"featured_media":121601,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[29],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-121596","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-taxation","generate-columns","tablet-grid-50","mobile-grid-100","grid-parent","grid-33","no-featured-image-padding"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/en.econostrum.info\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/121596","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/en.econostrum.info\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/en.econostrum.info\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/en.econostrum.info\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/10"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/en.econostrum.info\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=121596"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/en.econostrum.info\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/121596\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":121602,"href":"https:\/\/en.econostrum.info\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/121596\/revisions\/121602"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/en.econostrum.info\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/121601"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/en.econostrum.info\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=121596"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/en.econostrum.info\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=121596"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/en.econostrum.info\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=121596"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}