Income tax made up 26.7p of every £1 the public sector raised in 2025-26
Where each £1 of UK public sector receipts comes from, 1999-00 to 2030-31. Taxes are stacked from the bottom; income from assets, which is not a tax, is shown in grey at the top.
Latest figures
| Series | Period | Value |
|---|---|---|
| Income tax | 2025-26 | 26.7p |
| National Insurance | 2025-26 | 16.6p |
| VAT | 2025-26 | 14.6p |
| Corporation tax | 2025-26 | 8.1p |
| Property and wealth taxes | 2025-26 | 8.5p |
| Duties | 2025-26 | 5.5p |
| Other taxes and receipts | 2025-26 | 9.9p |
| Income from assets | 2025-26 | 10.0p |
Findings
Notes
- Each band is that source's share of total public sector receipts, shown as pence per £1 raised. Shares always add up to £1, so a band can grow because another one shrank; hover to see the cash amount.
- For the size of total receipts relative to the economy, see the chart of spending and receipts as a share of GDP.
- Receipts are public sector current receipts: all taxes plus income such as interest, dividends and the trading surplus of public corporations.
- Property and wealth taxes are council tax, capital gains tax, stamp duties and inheritance tax. Duties are fuel, alcohol, tobacco, vehicle excise, insurance premium tax and air passenger duty.
- Other taxes and receipts include business rates (not shown separately by the OBR), energy and environmental levies, the bank levy, VAT refunds to public bodies and the TV licence fee.
- Income from assets is mostly the depreciation of government assets, which national accounts record as both income and spending, plus interest, dividends and public corporations' trading surplus.
- VAT is shown net of refunds to public bodies.
Sources
More on public finances
- A salary of £32,100 pays £5,468 in income tax and National Insurance in 2026-27
- A full-time worker on typical pay of £39,863 paid 19.2% of it in income tax and National Insurance in 2025-26
- Debt interest cost 8.8p for every £1 the government raised in 2025-26
- Public spending on services was £1,228bn in 2025-26
- The top 1% of income tax payers paid 27.2% of all income tax in 2023-24
- The government spent 44.5% of GDP and raised 40.1% in 2025-26
- Social protection and health were the largest areas of public spending in 2025-26
- Public sector net debt was 93.3% of GDP in 2025-26
- Spending on debt interest rose by £79bn after inflation between 2020-21 and 2025-26, more than any other area