Summary Statistics
Published 29 June 2023
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This publication is available at https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/income-tax-liabilities-statistics-tax-year-2021-to-2022-to-tax-year-2024-to-2025/summary-statistics
1. Income Tax payer numbers by type
- there were 33.0 million Income Tax payers in tax year 2021 to 2022, which is projected to increase to 37.4 million in 2024 to 2025
- there are a projected 29.9 million basic rate and savers rate Income Tax payers in tax year 2024 to 2025, of which, 469,000 are savers rate Income Tax payers and 29.5 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 2024 to 2025 from 2021 to 2022. Basic rate Income Tax payers make up a projected 78.8%, and savers rate Income Tax payers are projected to be 1.3% of the overall Income Tax paying population in 2024 to 2025
- there are a projected 6.3 million higher rate Income Tax payers in tax year 2024 to 2025, which is a 42.6% increase compared to 2021 to 2022. Higher rate Income Tax payers make up a projected 16.9% of the overall Income Tax paying population in 2024 to 2025
- there are a projected 1.13 million additional rate Income Tax payers in tax year 2024 to 2025, which is a 117.1% increase from 2021 to 2022. Additional rate Income Tax payers make up a projected 3.0% of the overall Income Tax paying population in 2024 to 2025
Estimates for 2024 to 2025 are projections based on the 2021 to 2022 Survey of Personal Incomes and the Office for Budget Responsibility’s March 2024 Economic and Fiscal Outlook. 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 2021 to 2022 and 2024 to 2025
Figure 2: Percentage shares of Income Tax payers by marginal rate in 2024 to 2025
2. Income Tax payer numbers by UK region
- Northern Ireland had the lowest number of Income Tax payers at 2.5% in 2021 to 2022, followed by the North East at 3.7%
- the South East had the highest number of Income Tax payers at 14.6% in 2021 to 2022, while London had the second highest at 13.1%
Figure 3: Percentage shares of Income Tax payers by country and region in 2021 to 2022
3. Distribution of income and Income Tax liabilities
- the top 50% of Income Tax payers received 75.2% of total income in 2021 to 2022, or £977 billion out of a total £1,300 billion. This resulted in a 50.4 percentage point income inequality between the top and bottom 50% of Income Tax payers (where 0 percentage points is completely equal)
- however, the top 50% of Income Tax payers were liable for 90.8% of total Income Tax in 2021 to 2022, or £205 billion out of a total £226 billion, indicating the progressive nature of the Income Tax system
- the top 1% of Income Tax payers make up the majority of additional rate Income Tax payers and received 13.7% of total income in 2021 to 2022
- in addition, the top 1% of Income Tax payers were liable for 30.7% of total Income Tax in 2021 to 2022. This is projected to decrease to a 28.2% share of total Income Tax by 2024 to 2025
Figure 4: Percentage shares of income and Income Tax for the top 50% and top 1% of Income Tax payers
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
- basic rate Income Tax payers are projected to have an average tax rate of 10.1% in 2024 to 2025, an increase of 0.4 percentage points compared to 2021 to 2022
- higher rate Income Tax payers are projected to have an average tax rate of 20.7% in 2024 to 2025, a decrease of 1.2 percentage points compared to 2021 to 2022
- additional rate Income Tax payers are projected to have an average tax rate of 37.6% in 2024 to 2025, a decrease of 0.7 percentage points compared to 2021 to 2022
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 to 2022 | 4.1% | 9.7% | 21.9% | 38.3% |
| 2024 to 2025 | 4.6% | 10.1% | 20.7% | 37.6% |