Summary Statistics
Published 26 June 2025
漏 Crown copyright 2025
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1. Income Tax payer numbers by type
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there were 34.5 million Income Tax payers in tax year 2022 to 2023, which is projected to increase to 39.1 million in 2025 to 2026
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there are a projected 30.8 million basic rate and savers rate Income Tax payers in tax year 2025 to 2026, of which, 392,000 are savers rate Income Tax payers and 30.4 million are basic rate Income Tax payers. There is a 6.8% increase in basic rate Income Tax payers and savers rate Income Tax payers in 2025 to 2026 from 2022 to 2023. Basic rate Income Tax payers make up a projected 77.7%, and savers rate Income Tax payers are projected to be 1.0% of the overall Income Tax paying population in 2025 to 2026
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there are a projected 7.08 million higher rate Income Tax payers in tax year 2025 to 2026, which is a 38.7% increase compared to 2022 to 2023. Higher rate Income Tax payers make up a projected 18.1% of the overall Income Tax paying population in 2025 to 2026
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there are a projected 1.23 million additional rate Income Tax payers in tax year 2025 to 2026, which is a 115.3% increase from 2022 to 2023. Additional rate Income Tax payers make up a projected 3.1% of the overall Income Tax paying population in 2025 to 2026
Estimates for 2025 to 2026 are projections based on the 2022 to 2023 Survey of Personal Incomes and the . Basic rate includes savers rate Income Tax payers and both Scottish starter and intermediate rate Income Tax payers.
Figure 1: Income Tax payers by marginal rate between 2022 to 2023 and 2025 to 2026
| Tax year | All | Basic rate | Higher rate | Additional rate |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 to 2023 | 34,500,000 | 28,800,000 | 5,100,000 | 570,000 |
| 2023 to 2024 | 36,600,000 | 29,600,000 | 6,030,000 | 923,000 |
| 2024 to 2025 | 38,000,000 | 30,300,000 | 6,560,000 | 1,140,000 |
| 2025 to 2026 | 39,100,000 | 30,800,000 | 7,080,000 | 1,230,000 |
Figure 2: Percentage shares of Income Tax payers by marginal rate in 2025 to 2026
2. Income Tax payer numbers by UK region
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Northern Ireland had the lowest number of Income Tax payers at 2.4% in 2022 to 2023, followed by the North East at 3.7%
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the South East had the highest number of Income Tax payers at 14.7% in 2022 to 2023, while London had the second highest at 13.2%
Figure 3: Percentage shares of Income Tax payers by country and region in 2022 to 2023
3. Distribution of income and Income Tax liabilities
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the top 50% of Income Tax payers received 75.1% of total income in 2022 to 2023, or 拢1.05 trillion out of a total 拢1.39 trillion. This resulted in a 50.2 percentage point income inequality between the top and bottom 50% of Income Tax payers (where 0 percentage points is completely equal)
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however, the top 50% of Income Tax payers were liable for 90.4% of total Income Tax in 2022 to 2023, or 拢221 billion out of a total 拢245 billion, indicating the progressive nature of the Income Tax system
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the top 1% of Income Tax payers make up the majority of additional rate Income Tax payers and received 12.9% of total income in 2022 to 2023
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in addition, the top 1% of Income Tax payers were liable for 28.5% of total Income Tax in 2022 to 2023. This is projected to decrease to a 26.6% share of total Income Tax by 2025 to 2026
Figure 4: Percentage shares of income and Income Tax for the top 50% and top 1% of Income Tax payers
| Tax year | Top 50% share of income | Top 50% share of tax | Top 1% share of income | Top 1% share of tax |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 to 2023 | 75.1% | 90.4% | 12.9% | 28.5% |
| 2025 to 2026 | 75.6% | 90.1% | 12.6% | 26.6% |
Income Tax payer distributions are based on total income before tax. Projections for the top 1% of Income Tax payers are indicative.
4. Average Income Tax rates
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basic rate Income Tax payers are projected to have an average tax rate of 10.3% in 2025 to 2026, an increase of 0.5 percentage points compared to 2022 to 2023
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higher rate Income Tax payers are projected to have an average tax rate of 20.7% in 2025 to 2026, a decrease of 1.3 percentage points compared to 2022 to 2023
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additional rate Income Tax payers are projected to have an average tax rate of 37.4% in 2025 to 2026, a decrease of 0.9 percentage points compared to 2022 to 2023
Table 1: Average rate of Income Tax by marginal rate
| Tax year | Savers rate Income Tax payers | Basic rate Income Tax payers | Higher rate Income Tax payers | Additional rate Income Tax payers |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 to 2023 | 4.7% | 9.8% | 22% | 38.3% |
| 2025 to 2026 | 4.3% | 10.3% | 20.7% | 37.4% |