Official sources · Questions

Tax rates, allowances and taxpayer numbers: where the official figures are

UK tax rates and allowances are set by Parliament and the devolved legislatures and published by HMRC on GOV.UK, with Revenue Scotland and the Welsh Revenue Authority covering their own property taxes. HMRC's statistics show how many people pay each rate and how many estates pay inheritance tax, and the OBR estimates the effect of frozen thresholds. Fact-checkers use these sources for claims about tax rises, the personal allowance freeze, higher-rate taxpayers and household bills.

Covers: UK · Release calendar

What it publishes

• Current income tax bands and the personal allowance for England, Wales and Northern Ireland, and Scottish income tax bands, on GOV.UK.
• HMRC rates and allowances tables for income tax, National Insurance and other taxes, covering the current and past tax years.
• National Insurance rates and thresholds for employees, employers and the self-employed, by category letter.
• VAT rates and the rate that applies to each type of goods and services.
• Stamp Duty Land Tax rates for England and Northern Ireland, Land and Buildings Transaction Tax rates from Revenue Scotland, and Land Transaction Tax rates for Wales.
• HMRC income tax liabilities statistics: taxpayers by marginal rate, age, sex, country and region, with projections for the current year.
• HMRC inheritance tax liabilities statistics: the share of deaths that pay, total liabilities, reliefs and exemptions.
• OBR estimates of the receipts raised by freezing personal tax thresholds, in each Economic and fiscal outlook.

Key datasets

• Income Tax rates and Personal Allowances (GOV.UK)
  Current bands, rates and the personal allowance for taxpayers outside Scotland, with the previous year's rates.
  Updated: Updated each April
• Income Tax in Scotland (GOV.UK)
  Scottish income tax bands and rates for the current tax year and who counts as a Scottish taxpayer.
  Updated: Updated each April
• Rates and allowances (HMRC)
  Detailed tables of rates and allowances for income tax, National Insurance, capital gains tax, inheritance tax and other taxes, including past years.
  Updated: Updated as rates change
• National Insurance rates and category letters (GOV.UK)
  Employee and employer Class 1 rates and thresholds by category letter for the current tax year.
  Updated: Updated each April
• Income Tax statistics and distributions (HMRC)
  Numbers of income taxpayers by marginal rate, liabilities by income range and shares of income tax paid by top earners; outturn plus three projected years, back to 1990-91.
  Updated: Annual (summer)
• Inheritance Tax liabilities statistics (HMRC)
  Share of UK deaths with an inheritance tax charge, liabilities, average effective rates and use of reliefs.
  Updated: Annual (July)
• HMRC tax receipts and National Insurance contributions
  Monthly cash receipts for every tax HMRC collects, including VAT, inheritance tax, stamp duty and capital gains tax.
  Updated: Monthly
• Stamp Duty Land Tax residential rates (GOV.UK)
  Current SDLT bands, first-time buyer relief and surcharges for additional homes and non-residents in England and Northern Ireland.
  Updated: Updated as rates change
• Land and Buildings Transaction Tax (Revenue Scotland)
  Residential LBTT rates and bands for Scotland, with worked examples.
  Updated: Updated as rates change
• Land Transaction Tax rates (Welsh Government)
  Residential and higher rates of Land Transaction Tax in Wales.
  Updated: Updated as rates change
• OBR Economic and fiscal outlook, November 2025
  Box 3.3 sets out the yield from frozen personal tax thresholds and what thresholds would have been if uprated with inflation.
  Updated: Twice a year

APIs and downloads

• HMRC statistics tables
  Open Document Spreadsheet (ODS) tables for each release, free with no key.
• GOV.UK Content API
  Returns any GOV.UK guidance page, such as current tax rates, as JSON; no key needed.
• OBR supplementary tables
  Excel tables for receipts and policy costings accompany each outlook.

When it publishes

Tax rates change at the start of the tax year on 6 April, usually after being announced at a Budget. HMRC publishes tax receipts monthly, income tax liabilities statistics in summer and inheritance tax statistics in July, at 9:30am. The OBR publishes forecasts alongside each Budget and spring statement.

How to use it to check a claim

1. Check which tax year a rate applies to; the UK tax year runs from 6 April to 5 April.
2. For income tax claims, check whether the person is a Scottish taxpayer, because earned income bands differ in Scotland.
3. Remember that a marginal rate applies only to income in that band, not to the whole income.
4. For taxpayer numbers, use HMRC Table 2.1 and note which years are outturn and which are projections.
5. For the effect of frozen thresholds, quote the OBR estimate and the outlook it comes from, since it changes with each forecast.
6. For inheritance tax, distinguish liabilities in a tax year from cash receipts in that year.
7. For property taxes, check whether the home is in England and Northern Ireland, Scotland or Wales.

Common mistakes

• Treating a frozen threshold as no change to tax, when the OBR counts frozen thresholds as raising receipts.
• Quoting the headline 40% inheritance tax rate as what estates pay, when HMRC reports a much lower average effective rate.
• Comparing National Insurance changes for employees with those for employers, which have moved in opposite directions.
• Using UK-wide income tax band examples for people in Scotland.
• Mixing zero-rated and exempt goods in claims about VAT.

Where can I see tax rates for previous years?

HMRC's rates and allowances collection on GOV.UK has tables for income tax, National Insurance, capital gains tax and other taxes going back many years. The GOV.UK income tax rates page also shows the previous year's bands. For older Scottish rates, use the HMRC tables or the Scottish Government's budget documents.

How many people pay income tax in the UK?

HMRC's income tax liabilities statistics give the number of income taxpayers each year by marginal rate, age, sex and region. The July 2026 release puts the total at 36.7 million in 2023-24 and projects 40.8 million for 2026-27. Projections are revised each year.

Who sets Scottish income tax?

The Scottish Parliament sets the rates and bands for income tax on earnings and pensions of Scottish taxpayers. HMRC collects it, and the personal allowance, savings and dividend rates and National Insurance remain UK-wide. GOV.UK lists the current Scottish bands.

Questions answered using this source

• How many people claim benefits in the UK?
• How do I find sold house prices?
• How many people are homeless in England?
• How much tax revenue does the UK collect?
• What is the UK debt to GDP ratio?
• What is the OBR and what does it forecast?
• How much is the UK government borrowing?
• How do I find out who owns a property?
• How many people claim PIP?
• How much is lost to benefit fraud?
• How many homes are built each year in England?
• How much does the UK spend on debt interest?

Links checked 2026-10-13. This page describes what the source publishes and gives no verdict on any claim.