# Raise the tax-free personal allowance to £15,000

> “The Liberal Democrats will take 2.5 million people out of paying income tax altogether by raising the tax-free personal allowance to £15,000.”
>
> — Liberal Democrats; Liberal Democrat news release with the leader's conference speech, 22 September 2026

- **Status:** Promised
- **Status ladder:** Promised → In plan → Legislated → Funded → Delivering → Delivered
- **Policy area:** [Taxes](https://ledgergov.uk/promises/area/taxes)
- **Speaker:** [Liberal Democrats](https://ledgergov.uk/actor/liberal-democrats)
- **Made on:** 22 September 2026
- **Where:** Liberal Democrat news release with the leader's conference speech
- **Cost a year:** Costs £15.3bn to £18.7bn a year (central £17bn)
- **Who it affects:** UK income taxpayers. The same package raises the employee National Insurance threshold to £15,000 and the higher-rate threshold to £56,000 (outside Scotland).
- **When:** Not stated
- **Paid for by:** From a "growth dividend worth £27 billion a year" the party expects from a new partnership with the EU, including the Single Market and a Customs Union; it says £17bn of it would pay for the tax cuts
- **Quote source:** https://www.libdems.org.uk/news/article/cutting-income-tax-to-tackle-the-cost-of-living-crisis (checked word for word on 8 October 2026; Quoted for reporting; rights stay with the publisher)
- **Last updated:** 8 October 2026
- **Card:** https://ledgergov.uk/promise/uk-ld-personal-allowance-15k-2026

## Where it stands

The Liberal Democrats are not in government, so the card stays at Promised. The release says 2.5 million people would be taken out of income tax; the leader's speech the same day says 2 million more.

## Timeline

- 22 September 2026, Promised: The Liberal Democrats announce the £15,000 personal allowance on the last day of their conference

## About the cost

The party's own figure, £17bn a year, covers the whole package (the allowance, the National Insurance threshold and the higher-rate threshold) with no split, and the release gives no year. No independent costing was found on 8 Oct 2026. Low–high is an editorial ±10% because the source gives a central figure only.

Costing sources:
- [Liberal Democrats: Cutting income tax to tackle the cost of living crisis (22 Sep 2026)](https://www.libdems.org.uk/news/article/cutting-income-tax-to-tackle-the-cost-of-living-crisis)
- [Chartered Institute of Taxation: Liberal Democrat Conference 2026](https://www.tax.org.uk/liberal-democrats-conference-2026-tax)

## Sources

- [Liberal Democrats: Cutting income tax to tackle the cost of living crisis (22 Sep 2026)](https://www.libdems.org.uk/news/article/cutting-income-tax-to-tackle-the-cost-of-living-crisis)
- [Liberal Democrats: The fight of our lives, leader's speech (22 Sep 2026)](https://www.libdems.org.uk/news/article/the-fight-of-our-lives)
- [Chartered Institute of Taxation: Liberal Democrat Conference 2026](https://www.tax.org.uk/liberal-democrats-conference-2026-tax)

## Checks

- Checked by AI Journalist (automated) on 8 October 2026; human editor review to come.

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