GovData Docs

Tax API Reference

Income tax, National Insurance, tax years, take-home pay, employer cost, and VAT calculations.

Base URL: https://api.govdata.dev/v1

Tax Years

GET /v1/tax/years

List all available tax years.

curl -H "Authorization: Bearer YOUR_API_KEY" \
  https://api.govdata.dev/v1/tax/years

Response

{
  "data": [
    {
      "identifier": "2025-26",
      "start_date": "2025-04-06",
      "end_date": "2026-04-05",
      "active": true,
      "key_dates": {
        "self_assessment_deadline": "2027-01-31",
        "payment_on_account_first": "2026-01-31",
        "payment_on_account_second": "2026-07-31",
        "p60_deadline": "2026-05-31",
        "p11d_deadline": "2026-07-06"
      }
    }
  ],
  "meta": {
    "api_version": "v1",
    "licence": "Open Government Licence v3.0"
  },
  "pagination": { "total": 6, "page": 1, "per_page": 25, "total_pages": 1 }
}
GET /v1/tax/years/current

Returns the current active tax year.

GET /v1/tax/years/:identifier

Returns a specific tax year by identifier.

Parameter Type Description
identifier string Tax year in YYYY-YY format (e.g., 2025-26)

Income Tax

GET /v1/tax/income/bands

Returns income tax bands for the current tax year. Append /:tax_year for a specific year.

curl -H "Authorization: Bearer YOUR_API_KEY" \
  https://api.govdata.dev/v1/tax/income/bands

Response

{
  "data": {
    "tax_year": "2025-26",
    "personal_allowance": 12570,
    "personal_allowance_taper_threshold": 100000,
    "regions": {
      "england_wales_ni": {
        "bands": [
          { "name": "basic_rate", "label": "Basic Rate", "rate": 0.20, "from": 12570, "to": 50270 },
          { "name": "higher_rate", "label": "Higher Rate", "rate": 0.40, "from": 50270, "to": 125140 },
          { "name": "additional_rate", "label": "Additional Rate", "rate": 0.45, "from": 125140, "to": null }
        ]
      },
      "scotland": {
        "bands": [
          { "name": "starter_rate", "rate": 0.19, "from": 12570, "to": 15325 },
          { "name": "basic_rate", "rate": 0.20, "from": 15325, "to": 43662 },
          { "name": "intermediate_rate", "rate": 0.21, "from": 43662, "to": 50270 },
          { "name": "higher_rate", "rate": 0.41, "from": 50270, "to": 125140 },
          { "name": "top_rate", "rate": 0.46, "from": 125140, "to": null }
        ]
      }
    }
  },
  "meta": {
    "api_version": "v1",
    "licence": "Open Government Licence v3.0",
    "source": "HMRC",
    "source_url": "https://www.gov.uk/income-tax-rates"
  }
}
POST /v1/tax/income/calculate

Calculate income tax for a given gross income.

Parameters

Parameter Type Required Description
gross_income integer Yes Annual gross income in pounds (e.g., 55000)
region string No Default: england_wales_ni. Also: scotland
tax_year string No Default: current year. Format: YYYY-YY 
curl -X POST https://api.govdata.dev/v1/tax/income/calculate \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer YOUR_API_KEY" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"gross_income": 55000, "region": "england_wales_ni"}'

Response

{
  "data": {
    "gross_income": 55000,
    "personal_allowance": 12570,
    "taxable_income": 42430,
    "tax_year": "2025-26",
    "region": "england_wales_ni",
    "breakdown": [
      { "band": "basic_rate", "rate": 0.20, "taxable_amount": 37700, "tax": 7540.00 },
      { "band": "higher_rate", "rate": 0.40, "taxable_amount": 4730, "tax": 1892.00 }
    ],
    "total_income_tax": 9432.00,
    "effective_rate": 0.1715
  },
  "meta": {
    "api_version": "v1",
    "licence": "Open Government Licence v3.0",
    "source": "HMRC"
  }
}

National Insurance

GET /v1/tax/national-insurance/thresholds

Returns National Insurance thresholds for the current tax year. Append /:tax_year for a specific year.

Response

{
  "data": {
    "tax_year": "2025-26",
    "employee": {
      "primary_threshold": { "annual": 12570, "weekly": 241.73 },
      "upper_earnings_limit": { "annual": 50270, "weekly": 967.12 }
    },
    "employer": {
      "secondary_threshold": { "annual": 5000 }
    },
    "self_employed": {
      "class_2_small_profits_threshold": { "annual": 6725 },
      "class_4_lower_profit_limit": { "annual": 12570 },
      "class_4_upper_profit_limit": { "annual": 50270 }
    }
  },
  "meta": {
    "api_version": "v1",
    "licence": "Open Government Licence v3.0",
    "source": "HMRC",
    "source_url": "https://www.gov.uk/national-insurance-rates-letters"
  }
}
POST /v1/tax/national-insurance/calculate

Calculate National Insurance contributions for employed or self-employed income.

Parameters

Parameter Type Required Description
annual_salary integer Yes* Annual salary in pounds (for employed type)
annual_profit integer Yes* Annual profit in pounds (for self_employed type)
type string No Default: employed. Also: self_employed
tax_year string No Default: current year. Format: YYYY-YY

* Use annual_salary for employed, annual_profit for self-employed.

curl -X POST https://api.govdata.dev/v1/tax/national-insurance/calculate \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer YOUR_API_KEY" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"annual_salary": 55000, "type": "employed"}'

Take-Home Calculator

POST /v1/tax/take-home/calculate

Combined income tax and National Insurance calculation. Returns net pay breakdown with annual, monthly, and weekly figures.

Parameters

Parameter Type Required Description
gross_income integer Yes Annual gross income in pounds
region string No Default: england_wales_ni
tax_year string No Default: current year 
curl -X POST https://api.govdata.dev/v1/tax/take-home/calculate \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer YOUR_API_KEY" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"gross_income": 55000, "region": "england_wales_ni"}'

Response

{
  "data": {
    "gross_income": 55000,
    "region": "england_wales_ni",
    "tax_year": "2025-26",
    "deductions": {
      "income_tax": {
        "amount": 9432.00,
        "personal_allowance": 12570,
        "effective_rate": 0.1715,
        "breakdown": [
          { "band": "basic_rate", "rate": 0.20, "taxable_amount": 37700, "tax": 7540.00 },
          { "band": "higher_rate", "rate": 0.40, "taxable_amount": 4730, "tax": 1892.00 }
        ]
      },
      "national_insurance": {
        "employee": 3110.60,
        "breakdown": [
          { "from": 12570, "to": 50270, "rate": 0.08, "amount": 3016.00 },
          { "from": 50270, "to": 55000, "rate": 0.02, "amount": 94.60 }
        ]
      }
    },
    "net_annual": 42457.40,
    "net_monthly": 3538.12,
    "net_weekly": 816.49,
    "total_deductions": 12542.60,
    "marginal_rate": 0.42,
    "employer_costs": {
      "employer_ni": 7500.00,
      "total_cost_to_employer": 62500.00
    }
  },
  "meta": {
    "api_version": "v1",
    "licence": "Open Government Licence v3.0",
    "source": "HMRC"
  }
}

VAT Return Calculation

POST /v1/tax/vat/return/calculate

Calculate a complete 9-box VAT return from a set of transactions. Supports standard accounting, flat rate scheme, partial exemption, domestic reverse charge, EC supplies/acquisitions, postponed VAT accounting, bad debt relief, and fuel scale charges.

Query Parameters

Parameter Type Required Description
breakdown_detail string No full, summary (default), or none. Controls transaction detail in the breakdown.

Request Body

Field Type Description
company object VAT registration, schemes, partial exemption config, fuel scale charges.
period object Return period start_date and end_date (ISO 8601). Max 12 months.
transactions array Up to 10,000 transactions with id, date, type, amounts, VAT rate, and supply type. 
curl -X POST https://api.govdata.dev/v1/tax/vat/return/calculate \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer YOUR_API_KEY" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{
    "company": {
      "vat_registration_number": "123456789",
      "vat_schemes": [{"scheme": "standard", "effective_from": "2024-01-01", "effective_to": null}],
      "partially_exempt": false
    },
    "period": {"start_date": "2024-01-01", "end_date": "2024-03-31"},
    "transactions": [
      {"id": "S001", "date": "2024-01-15", "type": "sale", "net_amount": 10000, "vat_amount": 2000, "gross_amount": 12000, "vat_rate": "standard", "vat_rate_percentage": 20, "supply_type": "domestic", "is_capital_asset": false},
      {"id": "P001", "date": "2024-02-01", "type": "purchase", "net_amount": 3000, "vat_amount": 600, "gross_amount": 3600, "vat_rate": "standard", "vat_rate_percentage": 20, "supply_type": "domestic", "is_capital_asset": false}
    ]
  }'

Response (200 OK)

{
  "data": {
    "return_period": {
      "start_date": "2024-01-01",
      "end_date": "2024-03-31"
    },
    "boxes": {
      "box_1": { "value": 2000.00, "exact_value": 2000.00 },
      "box_2": { "value": 0.00, "exact_value": 0.00 },
      "box_3": { "value": 2000.00, "exact_value": 2000.00 },
      "box_4": { "value": 600.00, "exact_value": 600.00 },
      "box_5": { "value": 1400.00, "exact_value": 1400.00 },
      "box_6": { "value": 10000, "exact_value": 10000.00 },
      "box_7": { "value": 3000, "exact_value": 3000.00 },
      "box_8": { "value": 0, "exact_value": 0.00 },
      "box_9": { "value": 0, "exact_value": 0.00 }
    },
    "warnings": [],
    "scheme_summary": [
      { "scheme": "standard", "effective_from": "2024-01-01", "effective_to": "2024-03-31", "transaction_count": 2 }
    ],
    "rounding_summary": {
      "box_1_rounding": 0.0, "box_2_rounding": 0.0, "box_3_rounding": 0.0,
      "box_4_rounding": 0.0, "box_5_rounding": 0.0, "box_6_rounding": 0.0,
      "box_7_rounding": 0.0, "box_8_rounding": 0.0, "box_9_rounding": 0.0
    }
  },
  "meta": { "source": "HMRC", "source_url": "https://www.gov.uk/vat-returns" }
}

Box Descriptions

Box Description
box_1VAT due on sales and other outputs
box_2VAT due on acquisitions from other EC member states
box_3Total VAT due (Box 1 + Box 2)
box_4VAT reclaimed on purchases and other inputs
box_5Net VAT due or reclaimable (Box 3 - Box 4)
box_6Total value of sales excluding VAT
box_7Total value of purchases excluding VAT
box_8Total value of EC supplies of goods
box_9Total value of EC acquisitions of goods

Transaction Types

sale purchase credit_note_issued credit_note_received debit_note_issued debit_note_received bad_debt_relief journal

Supply Types

domestic domestic_reverse_charge ec_supply_goods ec_supply_services ec_acquisition_goods ec_acquisition_services export_outside_ec import_outside_ec import_postponed_vat outside_scope

VAT Schemes

standard flat_rate cash_accounting annual_accounting

Validation Errors (400)

{
  "error": {
    "code": "VALIDATION_ERROR",
    "message": "Request contains invalid data.",
    "documentation_url": "https://docs.govdata.dev/errors/VALIDATION_ERROR",
    "details": [
      { "field": "transactions[0]", "code": "AMOUNT_MISMATCH", "message": "Transaction S001: net_amount (100.0) + vat_amount (20.0) = 120.0, but gross_amount is 999.0." }
    ]
  }
}

Error codes: AMOUNT_MISMATCH, EXEMPT_WITH_VAT, DUPLICATE_TRANSACTION_ID, TRANSACTION_OUTSIDE_PERIOD, SCHEME_GAP, SCHEME_OVERLAP, FRS_MISSING_PERCENTAGE, BAD_DEBT_RELIEF_TOO_EARLY, BAD_DEBT_RELIEF_POSITIVE_VAT, BAD_DEBT_RELIEF_MISSING_ORIGINAL, DOMESTIC_REVERSE_CHARGE_SALE_WITH_VAT, CAPITAL_GOODS_MISSING_VALUE, PERIOD_TOO_LONG, INVALID_RATE_SUPPLY_COMBINATION, ANNUAL_ADJUSTMENT_WITHOUT_PARTIAL_EXEMPTION, PARTIAL_EXEMPTION_ATTRIBUTION_ON_OUTPUT, INVALID_SCHEME_OVERRIDE, RATE_PERCENTAGE_MISMATCH, SCHEME_OVERRIDE_DATE_MISMATCH, CREDIT_NOTE_POSITIVE_AMOUNTS, NEGATIVE_AMOUNT_ON_POSITIVE_TYPE, SUPPLY_TYPE_DIRECTION_MISMATCH, TRANSACTION_LIMIT_EXCEEDED, INVALID_CO2_BAND, TRANSACTION_NO_MATCHING_SCHEME.

Employer Cost Calculator

Calculate the total cost to an employer of hiring staff. Includes gross salary, employer National Insurance contributions, and workplace pension. Supports multiple employees at the same salary.

Request body

Field Type Required Description
annual_salary number Yes Gross annual salary in GBP
tax_year string No Tax year (e.g. "2025-26"). Defaults to current year.
pension_rate number No Employer pension rate as decimal (e.g. 0.03 for 3%). Default: 0.03
num_employees integer No Number of employees at this salary. Default: 1 
curl -X POST -H "Authorization: Bearer YOUR_API_KEY" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"annual_salary": 45000, "pension_rate": 0.05, "num_employees": 3}' \
  "https://api.govdata.dev/v1/tax/employer-cost/calculate"

Example response

{
  "data": {
    "tax_year": "2025-26",
    "per_employee": {
      "annual_salary": 45000.0,
      "employer_ni": 5064.78,
      "employer_ni_breakdown": [{ "band": "Above secondary threshold", "rate": 0.138, "amount": 5064.78 }],
      "employer_pension": 2250.0,
      "pension_rate": 0.05,
      "total_cost": 52314.78
    },
    "num_employees": 3,
    "total_annual_cost": 156944.34,
    "monthly_cost": 13078.70
  },
  "meta": {
    "api_version": "v1",
    "licence": "Open Government Licence v3.0"
  }
}

Data Coverage

Source HMRC / GOV.UK
Date range 2020-21 to 2025-26 tax years
Records 6 tax years across all tax types
Updated Annually (after Budget)
Limitations Historical rates before 2020-21 not yet available