Tax receipts near £1 trillion

Apr 24, 2026

HMRC collected £938.8 billion in taxes in 2025/26, up 9.3% from £858.6bn in 2024/25. Over two years, total receipts increased by £110.2bn, from £828.5bn in 2023/24.

Over the past 20 years, annual tax receipts have risen from £428.6bn in 2006/07 to £938.8bn in 2025/26. As a share of GDP, receipts stood at 30.7%.

VAT receipts reached £180.7bn, the highest annual total recorded. Corporation tax and related business taxes totalled £101.4bn, with HMRC attributing the year-on-year rise to growth in onshore corporation tax receipts.

PAYE Class 1 employer national insurance contributions reached £143.9bn in 2025/26, compared with £108.5bn in 2023/24, following changes introduced from April 2025 after the 2024 Budget.

Capital gains tax receipts rose 62%, from £13.68bn in 2024/25 to £22.18bn in 2025/26. The increase followed a period in which some business disposals were linked to pre-Budget speculation about potential CGT rate changes.

Inheritance tax receipts also reached a record annual high. HMRC collected £8.46bn in 2025/26, up £216m, or 2.6%, from £8.25bn in 2024/25.

Further tax changes are scheduled. Pension pots are due to fall within the inheritance tax regime from April 2027, while pension salary sacrifice rules are set to change from 2029. The income tax threshold freeze has also been extended to 2031.

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