6. Tax gaps: Other taxes
Updated 23 June 2026
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Other taxes, levies and duties
Summary
The ‘other taxes’ gap is estimated using 6 components:
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Stamp Duty Land Tax gap, based on an illustrative methodology using receipts, avoidance, and reliefs data
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Stamp Duty Reserve Tax gap, based on an illustrative methodology using receipts data
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Inheritance Tax gap, based on an established bottom-up statistical methodology
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Petroleum Revenue Tax gap estimates between 2005 to 2006 and 2014 to 2015. This is not estimated from 2015 to 2016 as it was permanently zero rated from 1 January 2016
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Landfill Tax gap, based on an illustrative methodology using receipts, compliance data, and unauthorised waste site data
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‘Other taxes, levies and duties’ gap: this includes Aggregates Levy, Air Passenger Duty, Climate Change Levy, Customs Duty, Digital Services Tax, Insurance Premium Tax, Plastic Packaging Tax and Soft Drinks Industry Levy; the other taxes, levies and duties gap is based on an illustrative methodology using a weighted average of the overall tax gap
To evaluate the uncertainty of our ‘other taxes’ gap, we assign an uncertainty rating for each component, ranging from ‘very low’ to ‘very high’:
- the estimates for the Inheritance Tax gap, Stamp Duty Land Tax gap and Landfill Tax gap have ‘high’ uncertainty
- the ‘other taxes, levies and duties gap’ and Stamp Duty Reserve Tax gap have ‘very high’ uncertainty
More information on the tax gap uncertainty assessment can be found in the ‘Methodological annex’.
Figure 6.1 shows the ‘other taxes’ gap time series in absolute terms and relative to theoretical liabilities.
The ‘other taxes’ gap is estimated to be 4.6% of theoretical ‘other taxes’ liabilities, or £2.3 billion in absolute terms, in the 2024 to 2025 tax year.
There has been a slight upward trend in the ‘other taxes’ gap from 4.0% in 2005 to 2006 to 4.6% in 2024 to 2025, with some fluctuations in the intervening years.
Figure 6.1: ‘Other taxes’ gap by value and as a percentage of theoretical tax liability, 2005 to 2006 up to 2024 to 2025
Notes for Figure 6.1:
- The full data series can be seen in the online tables.
Figure 6.2 shows the tax gaps for the ‘other taxes’ gap components: Stamp Duty Land Tax, Stamp Duty Reserve Tax, Inheritance Tax, Petroleum Revenue Tax, Landfill Tax and ‘other taxes, levies and duties’. Compared to the other ‘other taxes’ gap components, the estimate for Landfill Tax gap as a proportion of theoretical tax liabilities is the highest across the time series since the 2014 to 2015 tax year. Stamp Duty Reserve Tax has consistently been the lowest estimate across the time series.
The Stamp Duty Land Tax gap has reduced from 3.2% in 2005 to 2006 to 2.3% in 2024 to 2025, with a notable decline from 3.3% in 2011 to 2012 to 1.4% in 2013 to 2014.
The Stamp Duty Reserve Tax gap is assumed to be constant across the time series at 1.0%.
The Inheritance Tax gap has increased from 2.9% in 2005 to 2006 to a peak of 8.2% in 2013 to 2014. After falling to 5.2% in 2016 to 2017, the gap rose to 7.6% in 2017 to 2018 before decreasing to 3.0% in 2024 to 2025.
The Petroleum Revenue Tax gap was assumed to be 2.0% until it was zero-rated in 2015 to 2016.
The Landfill Tax gap increased from 3.3% in 2005 to 2006 to a peak of 34.8% in 2023 to 2024. In 2024 to 2025 it is estimated at 33.2%.
The ‘other taxes, levies and duties’ gap has decreased from 7.5% in 2005 to 2006 to 6.4% in 2024 to 2025.
Figure 6.2 ‘Other taxes’ gap components as a percentage of theoretical tax liabilities
Notes for Figure 6.2:
- The full data series can be seen in the online tables.
Stamp Duty Land Tax
Main findings
The Stamp Duty Land Tax gap is based on an illustrative methodology using receipts, avoidance, and reliefs data.
Figure 6.3 shows the Stamp Duty Land Tax gap time series in absolute terms and relative to theoretical Stamp Duty Land Tax liability.
The Stamp Duty Land Tax gap is 2.3% of the theoretical Stamp Duty Land Tax liability, or £320 million in absolute terms, in the 2024 to 2025 tax year.
The Stamp Duty Land Tax gap has reduced from 3.2% in 2005 to 2006 to 2.3% in 2024 to 2025.
The Stamp Duty Land Tax gap was stable around 3.3% between 2005 to 2006 and 2011 to 2012. The Stamp Duty Land Tax gap from 2012 to 2013 is not directly comparable to previous years, mainly due to a change in methodology around disclosure of tax avoidance (DOTAS) schemes no longer identified by the department. Following this, the gap decreased to 1.4% in 2013 to 2014 and and increased to 3.1% in 2019 to 2020. The gap has since varied between 2.0% and 3.0% in recent years. Estimates from 2015 to 2016 onwards are not directly comparable with previous years due to updated methodology from a legislative change in tackling threshold manipulation.
Figure 6.3: Stamp Duty Land Tax gap by value and as a percentage of theoretical tax liabilities, 2005 to 2006 up to 2024 to 2025
Notes for Figure 6.3:
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The full data series can be seen in the online tables.
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Figures are rounded to the nearest £10 million.
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Percentage figures are rounded to the nearest 0.1%.
Figure 6.4 shows the Stamp Duty Land Tax gap, tax liability, and the theoretical tax liability, which is the sum of the tax gap and tax liability, since 2020 to 2021.
The net gap has varied between £260 million and £320 million in the years between 2020 to 2021 and 2024 to 2025.
The Stamp Duty Land Tax liabilities increased from £8.7 billion in 2020 to 2021 to £13.9 billion in 2024 to 2025.
Figure 6.4: Stamp Duty Land Tax gap, tax liability and theoretical tax liability (£ million), since 2020 to 2021
| Year | Net tax gap | Liability | Theoretical tax liability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2020-21 | 260 | 8,670 | 8,930 |
| 2021-22 | 290 | 14,100 | 14,390 |
| 2022-23 | 320 | 15,360 | 15,680 |
| 2023-24 | 270 | 11,610 | 11,880 |
| 2024-25 | 320 | 13,880 | 14,200 |
Notes for Figure 6.4:
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The full data series can be seen in the online tables.
-
Figures are rounded to the nearest £10 million.
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Figures may not sum due to rounding.
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Liability refers to the actual amount expected to be received by HMRC based on taxpayer declarations and HMRC’s compliance activity.
Revisions
There are very minor revisions due to updated data on avoidance and reliefs, which do not affect the published duty gap percentage.
Stamp Duty Reserve Tax
Main findings
The Stamp Duty Reserve Tax gap is based on an illustrative methodology using receipts data.
Figure 6.5 shows the Stamp Duty Reserve Tax gap time series in absolute terms and relative to theoretical Stamp Duty Reserve Tax liability.
The Stamp Duty Reserve Tax gap is 1.0% of theoretical Stamp Duty Reserve Tax liability, or £40 million in absolute terms, in the 2024 to 2025 tax year.
The Stamp Duty Reserve Tax gap is assumed to be constant across the time series between 2005 to 2006 and 2024 to 2025 at 1.0% of theoretical liabilities.
Figure 6.5: Stamp Duty Reserve Tax gap by value and as a percentage of theoretical tax liability, 2005 to 2006 up to 2024 to 2025
Notes for Figure 6.5:
-
The full data series can be seen in the online tables.
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Figures are rounded to the nearest £10 million.
Figure 6.6 shows the Stamp Duty Reserve Tax gap, tax liability, and the theoretical liability, which is the sum of the tax gap and tax liability, since 2020 to 2021.
The net tax gap has remained between £40 million between the tax years 2020 to 2021 and 2024 to 2025 due to the assumption that the tax gap is approximately 1% of Stamp Duty Reserve Tax liability. Stamp Duty Reserve Tax liability increased from £3.7 billion in 2020 to 2021 to £4.3 billion in 2024 to 2025.
Figure 6.6: Stamp Duty Reserve Tax gap, tax liability and theoretical tax liability (£ million), since 2020 to 2021
| Year | Net tax gap | Liability | Theoretical tax liability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2020-21 | 40 | 3,680 | 3,710 |
| 2021-22 | 40 | 4,370 | 4,410 |
| 2022-23 | 40 | 3,780 | 3,820 |
| 2023-24 | 30 | 3,200 | 3,230 |
| 2024-25 | 40 | 4,320 | 4,360 |
Notes for Figure 6.6:
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The full data series can be seen in the online tables.
-
Figures are rounded to the nearest £10 million.
-
Figures may not sum due to rounding.
-
Liability refers to the actual amount expected to be received by HMRC based on taxpayer declarations and HMRC’s compliance activity.
Revisions
There are no revisions to the methodology for the Stamp Duty Reserve Tax gap since the publication of the ‘Measuring tax gaps 2025 edition’.
Inheritance Tax
Main findings
Figure 6.7 shows the Inheritance Tax gap time series in absolute terms and as a percentage of theoretical Inheritance Tax liability.
The Inheritance Tax gap is 3.0% of the theoretical Inheritance Tax liability, or £0.3 billion in absolute terms, in 2024 to 2025.
The Inheritance Tax gap has increased from 2.9% in 2005 to 2006 to a peak of 8.2% in 2013 to 2014. After falling to 5.2% in 2016 to 2017, the gap rose to 7.6% in 2017 to 2018 before decreasing to 3.0% in 2024 to 2025.
Figure 6.7: Inheritance Tax gap by value and as a percentage of theoretical tax liabilities, 2005 to 2006 up to 2024 to 2025
Notes for Figure 6.7:
-
The full data series can be seen in the online tables.
-
Figures are rounded to the nearest £0.1 billion.
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Percentage figures are rounded to the nearest 0.1%.
Figure 6.8 shows the gross and net Inheritance Tax gap, compliance yield, tax liability, and the theoretical tax liability, which is the sum of the net tax gap and tax liability, since 2020 to 2021.
The gross Inheritance Tax gap has been broadly stable between £0.5 billion and £0.7 billion over the last 5 years. Compliance yield is subtracted from the gross gap to derive the net tax gap. The compliance yield has been broadly stable between £0.2 billion and £0.3 billion over the last 5 years. The net Inheritance Tax gap has been broadly stable between £0.3 billion and £0.4 billion since 2020 to 2021. Inheritance Tax liability has increased from £5.3 billion to £8.2 billion and the theoretical tax liability has increased from £5.6 billion to £8.5 billion in the last 5 years.
Figure 6.8: Inheritance Tax gap, tax liability and theoretical tax liability (£ billion), since 2020 to 2021
| Year | Gross gap | Compliance yield | Net tax gap | Liability | Theoretical tax liability |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2020-21 | 0.5 | 0.2 | 0.3 | 5.3 | 5.6 |
| 2021-22 | 0.7 | 0.3 | 0.4 | 6.1 | 6.5 |
| 2022-23 | 0.5 | 0.2 | 0.3 | 7.1 | 7.4 |
| 2023-24 | 0.5 | 0.2 | 0.4 | 7.5 | 7.9 |
| 2024-25 | 0.5 | 0.2 | 0.3 | 8.2 | 8.5 |
Notes for Figure 6.8:
-
The full data series can be seen in the online tables.
-
Figures are rounded to the nearest £0.1 billion.
-
Figures may not sum due to rounding.
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Liability refers to the actual amount expected to be received by HMRC based on taxpayer declarations and HMRC’s compliance activity.
Revisions
HMRC have identified an error in the ‘Measuring tax gaps 2025 edition’ official statistics published in June 2025. This error caused an underestimation of the Inheritance tax gap in 2022 to 2023 of 0.6 percentage points and 1 percentage point in 2020 to 2021.
The corrected Inheritance tax gap is estimated to be 3.7% (£0.3 billion) in 2022 to 2023, 0.6 percentage points (£0.1 billion) higher than previously published. It is also estimated to be 4.5% (£0.3 billion) in 2020 to 2021, 1.0 percentage point (£0.1 billion) higher than previously published), 6.9% (£0.4 billion) in 2019 to 2020, 7.7% (£0.4 billion) in 2017 to 2018, 7.1% (£0.4 billion) in 2014 to 2015 (each 0.1 percentage points higher than previously published).
The liabilities and total theoretical liabilities are estimated to be £7.5bn and £7.8bn in 2023 to 2024 (£0.4bn higher than previously published) respectively.
Figure 6.9 shows the revisions to the Inheritance Tax gap compared with the corrected statistics for the ‘Measuring tax gaps 2025 edition.’
Estimates have been updated based on the most recent compliance data. We have also made methodological improvements to the projection of open compliance cases. This has led to revisions across the time series.
Figure 6.9: Revisions to Inheritance Tax gap compared to corrected statistics for ‘Measuring tax gaps 2025 edition’
Notes for Figure 6.9:
-
The full data series can be seen in the online tables.
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MTG stands for ‘Measuring tax gaps’.
Petroleum Revenue Tax
Main findings
The Petroleum Revenue Tax gap is not calculated from 2015 to 2016 as it has been zero rated from 1 January 2016.
The full data series can be seen in the online tables.
An illustrative indicator of the tax gap from Petroleum Revenue Tax for previous years was produced using the expert opinion of Petroleum Revenue Tax specialists. Given the narrowly defined base of the tax (limited to oil-producing fields developed before April 1993) and the small number of businesses involved, a range of between 1% and 3% of theoretical tax liabilities was used to calculate an illustrative tax gap. This produced an estimated tax gap of less than £10 million in the tax year 2014 to 2015.
Landfill Tax
Main findings
The Landfill Tax gap is based on an illustrative methodology using receipts, unauthorised waste sites, and compliance data.
Figure 6.10 shows the Landfill Tax gap time series in absolute terms and relative to theoretical Landfill Tax liabilities.
The Landfill Tax gap is 33.2% of the theoretical Landfill Tax liability, or £240 million in absolute terms, in the 2024 to 2025 tax year.
There has been an increase in the Landfill Tax gap from 3.3% in 2005 to 2006 to 33.2% in 2024 to 2025. There was a notable increase in the Landfill Tax gap in 2018 to 2019 due to the introduction of unauthorised waste sites into the scope of the Landfill Tax legislation, after which the time series has been volatile. Estimates from 2018 to 2019 onwards are not directly comparable with earlier years due to this change in methodology. The gap decreased to 17.1% in 2020 to 2021 before peaking at 34.8% in 2023 to 2024.
Figure 6.10: Landfill Tax gap by value and as a percentage of theoretical tax liability, 2005 to 2006 up to 2024 to 2025
Notes for Figure 6.10:
-
The full data series can be seen in the online tables.
-
Figures are rounded to the nearest £10 million.
-
Percentage figures are rounded to the nearest 0.1%.
Figure 6.11 shows the gross and net Landfill Tax gap, compliance yield, tax liability, and the theoretical tax liability, which is the sum of the net tax gap and tax liability, since 2020 to 2021.
The gross Landfill Tax gap increased from £180 million in 2020 to 2021 to £330 million in 2024 to 2025. Compliance yield is subtracted from the gross gap to derive the net tax gap. Compliance yield increased from £60 million in 2020 to 2021 to £80 million in 2024 to 2025. The net Landfill Tax gap increased from £120 million in 2020 to 2021 to £240 million in 2024 to 2025. Landfill Tax liabilities have been broadly stable between £490 million and £670 million in the last 5 years. The theoretical tax liability has been broadly stable between £680 million and £750 million.
Figure 6.11: Landfill Tax gap, tax liability, and theoretical tax liability (£ million), since 2020 to 2021
| Year | Gross gap | Compliance yield | Net tax gap | Liability | Theoretical tax liability |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2020-21 | 180 | 60 | 120 | 570 | 680 |
| 2021-22 | 190 | 50 | 140 | 670 | 810 |
| 2022-23 | 280 | 70 | 210 | 630 | 840 |
| 2023-24 | 330 | 70 | 260 | 490 | 750 |
| 2024-25 | 330 | 80 | 240 | 490 | 730 |
Notes for Figure 6.11:
-
The full data series can be seen in the online tables.
-
Figures are rounded to the nearest £10 million.
-
Figures may not sum due to rounding.
-
Liability refers to the actual amount expected to be received by HMRC based on taxpayer declarations and HMRC’s compliance activity.
Revisions
Figure 6.12 shows the revisions to the Landfill Tax gap since the publication of the ‘Measuring tax gaps 2025 edition’.
The Landfill Tax gap time series has revisions from 2018 to 2019 due to updated unauthorised waste sites data from the Environment Agency, which identified more non-compliance than previously estimated and therefore led to an upward revision.
From 2005 to 2006 to 2021 to 2022, annual compliance yield is estimated using a 3 year moving average. From 2022 to 2023 to 2024 to 2025, compliance yield is estimated using a 6 year moving average, due to increased volatility. This has led to an upward revision in the tax gap in recent years.
Figure 6.12: Revisions to Landfill Tax gap since the ‘Measuring tax gaps 2025 edition’
Notes for Figure 6.12:
-
The full data series can be seen in the online tables.
-
MTG stands for ‘Measuring tax gaps’.
Other taxes, levies and duties
Main findings
The tax gap for ‘other taxes, levies and duties’ covers taxes, levies and duties that do not currently have standalone models in the ‘Measuring tax gaps’ publication, namely Aggregates Levy, Air Passenger Duty, Climate Change Levy, Customs Duty, Digital Services Tax, Insurance Premium Tax, Plastic Packaging Tax and Soft Drinks Industry Levy.
Limitations in data or methods available means it is difficult to estimate these components individually, which is why an aggregated estimate is produced under ‘other taxes, levies and duties’.
The ‘other taxes, levies and duties’ gap is based on an illustrative method, whereby a proxy indicator for the scale of revenue losses across ‘other taxes, levies and duties’ has been produced by estimating the weighted average percentage of the overall tax gap each year and applying this to receipts in ‘other taxes, levies and duties’.
The average percentage revenue losses should not be considered estimates of the true percentage losses across Aggregates Levy, Air Passenger Duty, Climate Change Levy, Customs Duty, Digital Services Tax, Insurance Premium Tax, Plastic Packaging Tax and Soft Drinks Industry Levy, as this is unknown. Many of these taxes are very different from one another in nature and are, therefore, subject to different rules. The true tax gaps are therefore likely to vary across the taxes.
Figure 6.13 shows the ‘other taxes, levies and duties’ gap time series in absolute terms and relative to ‘other taxes, levies and duties’ theoretical liabilities.
The ‘other taxes, levies and duties’ gap is 6.4% of the theoretical ‘other taxes, levies and duties’ liability, or £1.5 billion in absolute terms, in the 2024 to 2025 tax year.
There has been a reduction in the ‘other taxes, levies and duties’ gap from 7.5% in 2005 to 2006 to 6.4% in 2024 to 2025.
The ‘other taxes, levies and duties’ gap varies across the time series due to changes in the overall tax gap used as part of the weighted average in the methodology.
Figure 6.13: Other taxes, levies and duties gap by value and as a percentage of theoretical tax liabilities, 2005 to 2006 up to 2024 to 2025
Notes for Figure 6.13:
-
The full data series can be seen in the online tables.
-
Figures are rounded to the nearest £0.1 billion.
-
Percentage figures are rounded to the nearest 0.1%.
Figure 6.14 shows the ‘other taxes, levies and duties’ gap, tax liability and the theoretical tax liability, which is the sum of the tax gap and tax liability, since 2020 to 2021.
The net tax gap has increased from £0.7 billion in 2020 to 2021 to £1.5 billion in 2024 to 2025.
Figure 6.14: ‘Other taxes, levies and duties’ gap, tax liability and theoretical tax liability (£ billion), since 2020 to 2021
| Year | Net tax gap | Liability | Theoretical tax liability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2020-21 | 0.7 | 12.3 | 13.1 |
| 2021-22 | 1.0 | 15.5 | 16.5 |
| 2022-23 | 1.4 | 19.6 | 21.0 |
| 2023-24 | 1.3 | 20.2 | 21.5 |
| 2024-25 | 1.5 | 21.4 | 22.9 |
Notes for Figure 6.14:
-
The full data series can be seen in the online tables.
-
Figures are rounded to the nearest £0.1 billion.
-
Figures may not sum due to rounding.
-
Liability refers to the actual amount expected to be received by HMRC based on taxpayer declarations and HMRC’s compliance activity.
Revisions
Figure 6.15 shows the revisions to the ‘other taxes, levies and duties’ gap since the publication of the ‘Measuring tax gaps 2025 edition’.
The ‘other taxes, levies and duties’ gap shows revisions across the time series due to changes in the overall tax gap, which forms part of the weighted average used in this methodology. As a result, any revisions made elsewhere in the tax gap estimates, as described in earlier chapters, would feed through to this estimate.
Figure 6.15: Revisions to ‘other taxes, levies and duties’ gap since the ‘Measuring tax gaps 2025 edition’
Notes for Figure 6.15:
-
The full data series can be seen in the online tables.
-
MTG stands for ‘Measuring tax gaps’.