Reform UK has pledged to raise the income tax personal allowance to £15,000 within its first 100 days in government, in one of the party's most significant tax commitments ahead of the next general election.
Robert Jenrick, Reform's economic spokesman, used the final day of the party's conference in Birmingham to promise that the threshold would be increased in the first Budget of a Reform government.
The standard personal allowance currently stands at £12,570, meaning most people can earn that amount before becoming liable for income tax.
Reform says increasing it to £15,000 would save most taxpayers around £500 a year and remove approximately 2.9 million people from income tax altogether.
Tax threshold would rise within first 100 days
Jenrick presented the policy as part of Reform's attempt to reduce the tax burden on working households.
The party says around 40 million people would benefit from the change, which would represent a £2,430 increase in the standard personal allowance.
Reform estimates that the policy would cost approximately £17.7 billion in its first year, rising towards £21 billion after five years.
Those figures are Reform UK's estimates rather than independent costings produced by the Treasury or Office for Budget Responsibility.
Reform says spending cuts would fund tax reduction
The party says the tax cut would be financed through a wider programme of reductions in government spending.
Jenrick has outlined plans for around £80 billion of savings, including previously announced proposals to reduce welfare spending alongside cuts affecting net-zero programmes, the civil service and overseas aid.
Reform argues that reducing government expenditure would create room for tax reductions without increasing borrowing.
The affordability of those plans is likely to face significant scrutiny as the party attempts to demonstrate that its programme could be delivered while maintaining public services.
Longer-term ambition remains £20,000
Jenrick also reaffirmed Reform's longer-term ambition to raise the personal allowance to £20,000.
However, he stopped short of promising that the £20,000 threshold would be introduced immediately, saying further increases would take place step by step and only when they could be fully funded.
The distinction represents a more cautious approach to one of Reform's previous headline tax ambitions.
The immediate commitment is therefore £15,000, with £20,000 remaining a longer-term objective rather than a guaranteed first-Budget measure.
Frozen threshold has increased tax burden
The personal allowance has remained at £12,570 since the 2021-22 tax year.
As wages rise while the threshold remains unchanged, more income becomes subject to taxation — a process commonly described as fiscal drag.
Official Government figures confirm that the standard personal allowance remains £12,570 for the 2026-27 tax year.
Reform is attempting to capitalise politically on frustration over frozen thresholds by presenting the increase as a direct tax cut for workers.
Reform says pensioners would also benefit
The party says the higher allowance would also help prevent pensioners whose principal income is the state pension from being drawn into income tax as pension payments increase.
Reform remains committed to the state pension triple lock, which increases payments according to the highest of earnings growth, inflation or 2.5%.
As the state pension rises while the personal allowance remains frozen, the two figures have moved increasingly close together.
Labour attacks Reform's spending plans
Labour has criticised the proposal, arguing that the spending reductions intended to finance Reform's tax programme could threaten public services.
The Government is likely to challenge Reform to demonstrate precisely how its proposed savings could be delivered and whether the resulting tax cuts would be sustainable.
For Reform, however, the pledge provides a simple economic message: a higher tax-free threshold funded by a smaller state.
Major economic pledge from Reform conference
The announcement gives Reform a concrete tax commitment to place alongside the policies unveiled during its Birmingham conference.
Unlike the party's broader aspiration to reach a £20,000 personal allowance, the £15,000 threshold has been attached to a specific timetable: Reform says it would be introduced within its first 100 days and in its first Budget.
That makes the proposal a significant test of the party's emerging economic programme and one that is likely to feature prominently in the political battle over taxation and public spending.