Tax revenue – where it comes from (1)

Data contained in a House of Commons (HoC) library report shows the tax receipts for the year 2024/25.  The main elements are: Income tax £306 billion, VAT £173 billion and National Insurance contributions £171 billion.

 

 

Tax	£ Billion	% share
Income tax	306	30.3
VAT	173	17.1
NICs	171	16.9
Other taxes	100	9.9
Corporation tax	98	9.7
Council tax	47	4.7
Capital taxes	41	4.1
Business rates	29	2.9
Fuel duty	24	2.4
Tobacco and alcohol	20	2.0
Total	1009	100.0

[House of Commons Library, 2026]

 

A more detailed breakdown of tax receipts is available from Tax Policy UK.  This provides a more granular breakdown. [Figures vary from the HoC report].

 

Income tax accounted for 32% of all receipts with the bulk of these derived from employees and the self-employed.

 

Tax	£ Billion	% share
Income tax	268	28.1
Dividend income tax	18.1	1.9
Savings income tax	10.5	1.1
Income tax - rent	9.2	1.0
Total	305.8	32.0

 

National Insurance Contributions accounted for 17.9% of receipts with most of this paid by employers.

 

Tax	£ Billion	% share
NICs employers	115.4	12.1
NICs employees	50.7	5.3
NICs SE	2.8	0.3
NICs other	2.4	0.3
Total	171.3	17.9

 

Taxes on assets at £108.2 billion accounted for 11.3% of receipts with Council tax and business rates making up three quarters of the total.

 

Tax	£ Billion	% share
Council tax	47.4	5.0
Business rates	32.1	3.4
SDLT	13.9	1.5
Inheritance tax	8.3	0.9
Stamp duty shares	4.3	0.5
SDRT	3.1	0.3
Stamp duty	1.3	0.1
Land and Buildings Transaction Tax (Scotland)	0.9	0.1
Total	108.2	11.3

 

Sources

Keep, M., (10th March 2026), Tax Statistics: an overview. House of Commons Library.

 

Neidle, D., (28 May 2026), 90 UK taxes. On one chart.  https://taxpolicy.org.uk/2026/05/28/90-uk-taxes/