Reform UK has pledged to increase the tax-free personal allowance to £15,000 within the first 100 days of forming a government, a move expected to benefit approximately 40 million taxpayers. Robert Jenrick, who would serve as Chancellor in a Reform administration, announced the plan during the party's conference in Birmingham, vowing to "get Britain standing again."
The current personal allowance, the amount individuals can earn before paying income tax, has been frozen at £12,570 since 2021. This freeze is slated to continue until 2031 under existing government plans. Reform estimates that raising the allowance to £15,000 would save the majority of taxpayers around £500 annually and would also remove 2.9 million people from the income tax system entirely, while ensuring the state pension remains untaxed.
Reform attributes the increase in tax burden on millions of Britons to "fiscal drag," a phenomenon where frozen allowances and thresholds, failing to keep pace with earnings growth and the cost of living, pull more people into the tax system. The party argues that this has effectively lowered the personal allowance by £3,500 compared to what it would be if it had risen with earnings.
Jenrick stated that his primary goal as Chancellor would be to improve the situation for workers in Britain. "In the first 100 days of a Reform government, in our first Budget, we will raise the tax-free personal allowance from £12,570 to £15,000," he declared.
The party estimates the cost of this tax cut to be £17.7 billion in the first year, rising to £21 billion by the fifth year. Reform plans to fund this measure through £80 billion in identified government spending cuts, targeting areas such as the welfare bill, Net Zero initiatives, and the foreign aid budget. Jenrick challenged Prime Minister Andy Burnham to match Reform's pledge, framing the choice as one between "welfare waste, foreign aid and migrants—or the British worker."
Reform UK had previously pledged to raise the personal allowance to £20,000 at the last general election in 2024. Jenrick confirmed this remains the party's long-term ambition, to be pursued incrementally once fully funded. The announcement comes as the party seeks to regain momentum following a donations row that overshadowed the first day of its conference, leading to the permanent suspension of two senior party aides over alleged discussions about disguising foreign donations.