Fourteen pounds from the cliff · UK study
The police constable who sits £14 below the 40% tax band — so every hour of overtime is taxed like a high earner.
At the top of the constable scale, an officer earns £50,256 — just £14 under the £50,270 higher-rate threshold. It means the overtime they rely on is taxed at 40% from the very first hour. We found the public-sector roles sitting right on the cliff edge.
The higher-rate tax threshold sits at £50,270 — the point where each extra pound starts being taxed at 40% instead of 20%. And by pure coincidence of the pay scales, a police constable at the very top of their range earns £50,256 — just £14 below that line. For officers who rely on overtime, it means almost every extra hour they work is taxed at the higher rate from the first minute.
Public-sector roles on the edge of the 40% cliff
| Role | Top-of-scale pay | Position vs £50,270 |
|---|---|---|
| Police constable (PP7, top) | £50,256 | £14 below |
| Teacher (U3, top) | £51,047 | £777 over |
A top-scale teacher (U3) has already crossed the line at £51,047, so any TLR responsibility payment on top is taxed at 40%. These aren't high earners in any normal sense — they're experienced public servants who happen to sit exactly where the tax system bites. See what your next £1 is really worth.
All figures computed from published HMRC tax rules for the 2026/27 tax year, using the same engine behind our calculators, and verified 12 August 2026. Reproducible and free to cite — contact us for the underlying data.