Corporate report

Tax by different customer groups – 2023 to 2024

Published 30 July 2024

Every year, we collect revenues from millions of individuals and from businesses of all sizes. To help us do this, we segment our customers into groups so we can identify their needs and risks more accurately and tailor our responses accordingly. The tables below show key performance data for our customer groups during 2023 to 2024.

There are some differences between the way we segment receipts between customer groups and how theoretical liabilities are segmented when calculating tax gaps. For example, as employers operate PAYE schemes, we evaluate compliance in PAYE within the tax gaps for small, mid-sized and large business customer groups.

Individual customers: population 35 million (Income Tax payers)

Individuals are by far our largest customer group and many claim tax credits and other entitlements from us, as well as paying taxes. In 2023 to 2024 they were defined as having incomes below £200,000 and assets below £2 million in each of the last 3 years.

• £335 billion Estimated PAYE and National Insurance Contributions (NIC) receipts collected (to nearest £5 billion)
• £15 billion Estimated receipts – other taxes, such as Corporation Tax, VAT, excise duties, Capital Gains Tax (to nearest £5 billion)
• £3.4 billion Estimated compliance yield generated from our activities (to nearest £0.1 billion)
• £450 million Estimated spend on compliance activities (to nearest £10 million)
• £1.9 billion Estimated tax gap estimate for 2022 to 2023 (to nearest £0.1 billion)

Wealthy individuals: population 850,000

Wealthy individuals often have complex tax affairs covering multiple different taxes. In 2023 to 2024 they were defined as having incomes of £200,000 or more, or assets equal to or above £2 million in any of the last 3 years.

• £70 billion Estimated PAYE and NIC receipts collected (to nearest £5 billion)
• £50 billion Estimated receipts – other taxes, including Corporation Tax, VAT, excise duties, Capital Gains Tax (to nearest £5 billion)
• £5.2 billion Estimated compliance yield generated from our activities (to nearest £0.1 billion)
• £350 million Estimated spend on compliance activities (to nearest £10 million)
• £1.9 billion Estimated tax gap estimate for 2022 to 2023 (to nearest £0.1 billion)

Small businesses: population 5.2 million

Small businesses represent approximately 95% of businesses in UK. In 2023 to 2024 they were defined as having turnover below £10 million and typically fewer than 20 employees.

• £55 billion Estimated PAYE and NIC receipts collected (to nearest £5 billion)
• £105 billion Estimated receipts – other taxes, including Corporation Tax, VAT, excise duties, Capital Gains Tax (to nearest £5 billion)
• £7.5 billion Estimated compliance yield generated from our activities (to nearest £0.1 billion)
• £670 million Estimated spend on compliance activities (to nearest £10 million)
• £24.1 billion Estimated tax gap estimate for 2022 to 2023 (to nearest £0.1 billion

Mid-sized businesses, charities and public bodies: population 340,000 (Corporation Tax Registered Entities)

Mid-sized businesses make up approximately 5% of UK businesses, but some are growing rapidly, making their tax affairs increasingly complex. In 2023 to 2024 they were defined as having turnover between £10 million and £200 million or typically 20 or more employees.

• £215 billion Estimated PAYE and NIC receipts collected (to nearest £5 billion)
• £70 billion Estimated receipts – other taxes, including Corporation Tax, VAT, excise duties, Capital Gains Tax (to nearest £5 billion)
• £6.3 billion Estimated compliance yield generated from our activities (to nearest £0.1 billion)
• £310 million Estimated spend on compliance activities (to nearest £10 million)
• £4.2 billion Estimated tax gap estimate for 2022 to 2023 (to nearest £0.1 billion)

Large businesses: population 2,000

Large and complex businesses play a pivotal role in the UK economy. In 2023 to 2024, they were broadly defined as having turnover exceeding £200 million or £2 billion in assets, but we look at other factors such as complexity, level of risk and global mobility.

• £135 billion Estimated PAYE and NIC receipts collected (to nearest £5 billion)
• £185 billion Estimated receipts – other taxes, including Corporation Tax, VAT, excise duties, Capital Gains Tax (to nearest £5 billion)
• £13.9 billion Estimated compliance yield generated from our activities (to nearest £0.1 billion)
• £300 million Estimated spend on compliance activities (to nearest £10 million)
• £4.3 billion Estimated tax gap estimate for 2022 to 2023 (to nearest £0.1 billion)

Notes

1. Estimated PAYE and NICs receipts are collected from small, mid-sized and large businesses but paid by individual and wealthy customers. Total PAYE receipts are therefore included twice in these figures to show how they are attributed to both business and customer groups.

2. Estimated receipts from other taxes includes Self Assessment tax.

3. PAYE receipts are included in the total receipts for individual and wealthy customer groups, whereas the PAYE tax gap is reported as part of the tax gaps for small, mid-sized and large business customer groups.

4. Receipts align with the May 2024 cash receipts publication found in the link below. Please note that 2023 to 2024 receipts are provisional until they are aligned to the Trust Statement.

5. Some compliance yield and activities are directed towards organised crime, which is not included in this table.

6. Population figures for Mid-sized businesses were updated for 2023 to 2024 using latest available data which increased the population size and PAYE & NIC receipts for this customer group, with a corresponding decline in PAYE and NIC receipts from small businesses compared with 2022 to 2023.