does not need to be secured against the property receiving the rent, subject to a maximum of the purchase prices of the property investment business properties (or the market value at the time they transferred into the business). Joint owners can decide how they divide income and expenses, as long as one does not make a profit and the other a loss. Losses can be brought forward to subsequent years. England, Wales and Northern Ireland Current rates This table reflects the removal of the 10% starting rate from April 2008, which also saw the 22% income tax rate drop to 20%. From April 2010, the Labour government introduced a 50% income tax rate for those earning more than £150,000. Income threshold for high taxation rate on income was decreased to £32,011 in 2013. The coalition government raised this allowance in years following 2014, and the 50% tax bracket was reduced to its current 45% rate. Scotland Since 2017 the Scottish Parliament has had the power to set the tax band thresholds (excluding the personal allowance) as well as the rates on all non-savings and non-dividend income of Scottish taxpayers. †Assumes individuals are in receipt of the Standard UK Personal Allowance. ††The Personal Allowance reduces by £1 for every £2 earned over £100,000. This means for incomes between £100,001 and £125,140 the marginal income tax rate is 61.5%. Exemptions on investment Certain investments carry a tax favoured status, including: UK Government Bonds (gilts) While all income is taxable, gains are exempt for income tax purposes. National Savings and Investments Certain investments via the state owned National Savings scheme are not subject to tax including Index linked Certificates (up to £15,000 per issue) and Premium Bonds, a scheme that issues monthly prizes in place of interest on individual holdings up to £50,000. Individual Savings Accounts (ISAs) Interest is paid tax free, while dividends are paid along with a tax credit to the investor which can then be offset against dividend tax due. For a basic rate tax payer this means they have no tax to pay on a dividend. There is no overall limit on how much a person can have invested in ISA accounts, but additional investments are currently limited to £20,000 per person per year, either in cash funds, mutual funds (Units Trusts and OEICs), or individual self-selected shares. Pension funds These have the same tax treatment as ISAs in