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Bank of England base rate
The Bank of England base rate, officially called Bank Rate, is currently 3.75%. At its last decision the Bank of England held Bank Rate at 3.75% on 17 September 2026. The next decision is due on Thursday 5 November 2026 at 12 noon.
This page updates automatically from the Bank of England’s own data shortly after each decision is announced. Use the calculator below to illustrate how a tracker mortgage could compare with a fixed rate if Bank Rate rises, falls or stays where it is. Bank Rate is not the mortgage rate you will necessarily pay. Mortgage rates depend on the lender, product, loan-to-value (LTV), borrower circumstances and other factors.
Tracker or fixed calculator
Choose what the Bank of England might do at each of its upcoming rate decisions, then compare an illustrative tracker mortgage with a fixed rate, month by month.
Pick a scenario, or drag any decision point on the chart. These are scenarios to test, not forecasts.
Illustration over 2 years, on your Bank Rate path
Tracker rates can rise if Bank Rate rises, which could increase your monthly payments and reduce or eliminate the illustrated saving.
This is an illustration only, not a forecast, mortgage offer or advice. The result is based on the tracker margin, fees and fixed-rate benchmark shown above. You can change the assumptions to see how the comparison changes. A different mortgage rate, fee or Bank Rate path could materially change the result.
Your home may be repossessed if you do not keep up repayments on your mortgage.
| Month | Bank Rate | Tracker rate | Tracker payment | Fixed payment | Difference | Running total |
|---|
Difference is the fixed payment minus the tracker payment. Running total also counts fees and the balance you'd owe, so it shows how far ahead each deal is.
Every change since 1975, from the Bank of England's own records.
| Date | Bank Rate | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 18 Dec 2025 | 3.75% | −0.25 |
| 7 Aug 2025 | 4.00% | −0.25 |
| 8 May 2025 | 4.25% | −0.25 |
| 6 Feb 2025 | 4.50% | −0.25 |
| 7 Nov 2024 | 4.75% | −0.25 |
| 1 Aug 2024 | 5.00% | −0.25 |
| 3 Aug 2023 | 5.25% | +0.25 |
| 22 Jun 2023 | 5.00% | +0.50 |
| 11 May 2023 | 4.50% | +0.25 |
| 23 Mar 2023 | 4.25% | +0.25 |
| 2 Feb 2023 | 4.00% | +0.50 |
| 15 Dec 2022 | 3.50% | +0.50 |
| 3 Nov 2022 | 3.00% | +0.75 |
| 22 Sep 2022 | 2.25% | +0.50 |
| 4 Aug 2022 | 1.75% | +0.50 |
| 16 Jun 2022 | 1.25% | +0.25 |
| 5 May 2022 | 1.00% | +0.25 |
| 17 Mar 2022 | 0.75% | +0.25 |
| 3 Feb 2022 | 0.50% | +0.25 |
| 16 Dec 2021 | 0.25% | +0.15 |
| 19 Mar 2020 | 0.10% | −0.15 |
| 11 Mar 2020 | 0.25% | −0.50 |
| 2 Aug 2018 | 0.75% | +0.25 |
| 2 Nov 2017 | 0.50% | +0.25 |
| 4 Aug 2016 | 0.25% | −0.25 |
| 5 Mar 2009 | 0.50% | −0.50 |
| 5 Feb 2009 | 1.00% | −0.50 |
| 8 Jan 2009 | 1.50% | −0.50 |
| 4 Dec 2008 | 2.00% | −1.00 |
| 6 Nov 2008 | 3.00% | −1.50 |
| 8 Oct 2008 | 4.50% | −0.50 |
| 10 Apr 2008 | 5.00% | −0.25 |
| 7 Feb 2008 | 5.25% | −0.25 |
| 6 Dec 2007 | 5.50% | −0.25 |
| 5 Jul 2007 | 5.75% | +0.25 |
| 10 May 2007 | 5.50% | +0.25 |
| 11 Jan 2007 | 5.25% | +0.25 |
| 9 Nov 2006 | 5.00% | +0.25 |
| 3 Aug 2006 | 4.75% | +0.25 |
| 4 Aug 2005 | 4.50% | −0.25 |
| 5 Aug 2004 | 4.75% | +0.25 |
| 10 Jun 2004 | 4.50% | +0.25 |
| 6 May 2004 | 4.25% | +0.25 |
| 5 Feb 2004 | 4.00% | +0.25 |
| 6 Nov 2003 | 3.75% | +0.25 |
| 10 Jul 2003 | 3.50% | −0.25 |
| 6 Feb 2003 | 3.75% | −0.25 |
| 8 Nov 2001 | 4.00% | −0.50 |
| 4 Oct 2001 | 4.50% | −0.25 |
| 18 Sep 2001 | 4.75% | −0.25 |
| 2 Aug 2001 | 5.00% | −0.25 |
| 10 May 2001 | 5.25% | −0.25 |
| 5 Apr 2001 | 5.50% | −0.25 |
| 8 Feb 2001 | 5.75% | −0.25 |
| 10 Feb 2000 | 6.00% | +0.25 |
| 13 Jan 2000 | 5.75% | +0.25 |
Source: Bank of England Database.
Your home may be repossessed if you do not keep up repayments on your mortgage.
The information provided by these calculators is for illustrative purposes only and does not constitute a mortgage offer, decision in principle or mortgage advice. This information does not contain all of the details you need to choose a mortgage. The results should not be the sole basis for a financial decision and depend on your individual circumstances and lender criteria.
The Bank Rate paths are scenarios, not forecasts. The calculator assumes the tracker rate changes from the first of the month after each Bank of England decision, that interest is charged monthly, that fees are paid upfront and that the fixed rate stays the same for the whole deal. Actual payments depend on the lender's terms, including any minimum rate and early repayment charges. You may have to pay an early repayment charge to your existing lender if you remortgage.
The Bank of England has confirmed its decision dates to the end of 2027; dates after that are estimates based on its usual pattern. Market average fixed rates are the Bank of England's monthly quoted rates for 75% loan-to-value mortgages and may differ from the rates available to you. Mortgage rates are subject to change and lender criteria. The rates shown are for illustrative purposes only and may not be available to all applicants.
Our advisers compare over 300 lenders to help identify tracker and fixed rate deals that may suit your circumstances.
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Your mortgage
Bank Rate is the interest rate the Bank of England pays on money that banks hold with it. It influences borrowing costs across the UK, but it can affect each type of mortgage differently.
Your rate is Bank Rate plus a set margin, for example Bank Rate + 0.75%. When Bank Rate moves, your rate and monthly payment move with it, so your payments go up if Bank Rate rises. When the change applies depends on your lender’s terms, and some trackers have a minimum rate.
Lenders set their own standard variable rates. Some lenders may change them when Bank Rate changes, but they are not obliged to, and they can change them at other times too.
Your rate and monthly payment stay the same until the fixed period ends, and you may have to pay an early repayment charge if you repay or switch during it. Lenders typically price new fixed rates with reference to swap rates, a measure of where financial markets expect interest rates to go, so new fixed rates can rise or fall even when Bank Rate doesn’t move.
Tracker or fixed
A fixed rate gives you certainty over your monthly payments for the fixed period, typically two or five years. With a tracker, your payments rise and fall with Bank Rate: it may cost less than a fixed rate while Bank Rate stays low enough, and more if Bank Rate rises. Some trackers are available without early repayment charges, which may make it easier to move to a fixed rate later, subject to the lender’s criteria.
One useful question is how far Bank Rate would need to rise before the tracker costs more. The calculator above can help you estimate this. Based on the figures you enter, it shows the Bank Rate at which the tracker rate would overtake the fixed rate, and the level at which the two would cost the same over the whole deal.
Which option may be suitable also depends on your budget, how long you plan to keep the mortgage and how comfortable you are with your payments changing. Our advisers compare over 300 lenders to help identify tracker and fixed rate deals that may suit your circumstances.
You may have to pay an early repayment charge to your existing lender if you remortgage.
Your home may be repossessed if you do not keep up repayments on your mortgage
Talk to an adviserNext decision
The next decision is on Thursday 5 November 2026. The Bank of England’s Monetary Policy Committee meets eight times a year and announces each decision at 12 noon. The full list of upcoming dates is in the calculator’s history section above, and this page updates automatically shortly after each decision is published.
History
Since 1975, Bank Rate has ranged from 17% in November 1979 to a low of 0.1%, set in March 2020 at the start of the pandemic and kept until December 2021. After the 2008 financial crisis it stayed at 0.75% or below for 13 years.
From December 2021 the Bank raised rates 14 times in a row to bring down high inflation, reaching 5.25% in August 2023. Six cuts between August 2024 and December 2025 then took it to 3.75%.
The chart and table in the calculator above show every change, going back to 1975.
It’s the interest rate the Bank of England pays on reserves that banks hold with it, officially called Bank Rate. Changing it influences the rates banks charge on mortgages and loans and pay on savings, which is how the Bank works to keep inflation at the government’s 2% target.
The Bank’s nine-member Monetary Policy Committee votes on it at eight scheduled meetings a year, and each decision is published at 12 noon. The Committee can also act between meetings in an emergency, as it did in March 2020.
If you have a tracker, your rate typically moves by the same amount as Bank Rate, from a date set out in your mortgage terms, unless a minimum rate applies. Lenders may also change their standard variable rates, at their discretion. If you’re on a fixed rate, your rate won’t change until your fixed period ends.
Nobody knows for certain. The Committee decides at each meeting based on the latest inflation and economic data, and financial markets price in what they expect. Rather than relying on a forecast, you can use the calculator to test what different paths could mean for your payments.
It may be possible. Some trackers have no early repayment charges, which may allow you to move to a fixed rate if Bank Rate starts to rise. Fixed rates may also have moved by then, and you’ll need to meet the lender’s criteria for the new deal. You may have to pay an early repayment charge to your existing lender if you remortgage.
It depends on your lender. Some apply the new rate from the first day of the following month, and others sooner. Your mortgage offer sets out how your rate follows Bank Rate.
The content of this website is for information purposes only and does not constitute financial advice or a recommendation to a suitable product or service. You should seek advice before embarking on any course of action.
Whatever your situation, our mortgage team can advise on suitable solutions. We specialise in complex and bespoke mortgage solutions to help you find competitive terms.
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