National statistics

Summary Statistics

Updated 28 September 2023

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This publication is available at https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/income-tax-liabilities-statistics-tax-year-2020-to-2021-to-tax-year-2023-to-2024/summary-statistics

Income Tax payer numbers by type

  • there were 31.7 million Income Tax payers in tax year 2020 to 2021, which is projected to increase to 35.9 million in 2023 to 2024

  • there are a projected 29.4 million basic rate and savers rate Income Tax payers in tax year 2023 to 2024, of which, 580,000 are savers rate Income Tax payers and 28.8 million are basic rate Income Tax payers. There is a 8.0% increase in basic rate Income Tax payers and savers rate Income Tax payers in 2023 to 2024 from 2020 to 2021. Basic rate Income Tax payers make up a projected 80.4%, and savers rate Income Tax payers are projected to be 1.6% of the overall Income Tax paying population in 2023 to 2024

  • there are a projected 5.6 million higher rate Income Tax payers in tax year 2023 to 2024, which is a 40.7% increase compared to 2020 to 2021. Higher rate Income Tax payers make up a projected 15.6% of the overall Income Tax paying population in 2023 to 2024

  • there are a projected 862,000 additional rate Income Tax payers in tax year 2023 to 2024, which is a 99.2% increase from 2020 to 2021. Additional rate Income Tax payers make up a projected 2.4% of the overall Income Tax paying population in 2023 to 2024

Estimates for 2023 to 2024 are projections based on the 2019 to 2020 Survey of Personal Incomes and the Office for Budget Responsibility’s March 2023 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 2020 to 2021 and 2023 to 2024
Figure 2: Percentage shares of Income Tax payers by marginal rate in 2023 to 2024

Income Tax payer numbers by UK region

  • Northern Ireland had the lowest number of Income Tax payers at 2.5% in 2020 to 2021, followed by the North East at 3.7%

  • the South East had the highest number of Income Tax payers at 14.7% in 2020 to 2021, while London had the second highest at 13.2%

Figure 3: Percentage shares of Income Tax payers by country and region in 2020 to 2021

Distribution of income and Income Tax liabilities

  • the top 50% of Income Tax payers received 74.5% of total income in 2020 to 2021, or £879 billion out of a total £1,180 billion. This resulted in a 49.0 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 90.5% of total Income Tax in 2020 to 2021, or £177 billion out of a total £196 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 12.5% of total income in 2020 to 2021

  • in addition, the top 1% of Income Tax payers were liable for 29.1% of total Income Tax in 2020 to 2021. This is projected to decrease to a 28.5% share of total Income Tax by 2023 to 2024

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.

Average Income Tax rates

  • basic rate Income Tax payers are projected to have an average tax rate of 9.9% in 2023 to 2024, an increase of 0.4 percentage points compared to 2020 to 2021

  • higher rate Income Tax payers are projected to have an average tax rate of 20.8% in 2023 to 2024, a decrease of 1.0 percentage points compared to 2020 to 2021

  • additional rate Income Tax payers are projected to have an average tax rate of 38.0% in 2023 to 2024, a slight decrease of 0.3 percentage points compared to 2020 to 2021

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
2020 to 2021 4% 9.5% 21.8% 38.3%
2023 to 2024 4.5% 9.9% 20.8% 38%
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