# Taxes you pay indirectly url: https://whereyourmoneygoes.co.uk/taxes-you-pay-indirectly/ updated: 29 September 2026 licence: Our words, analysis, charts and derived calculations: CC BY 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), credit [Tekstak Ltd](https://tek-stak.co.uk). Figures: each source's own licence, listed under Sources. publisher: [Tekstak Ltd](https://tek-stak.co.uk) # Taxes you pay indirectly Last updated 29 September 2026. Figures refresh every night. [How each figure is worked out](/methodology/). **Taxes charged on businesses that reach households anyway, through higher prices, lower wages or smaller pension pots.** Formally, companies. In practice the cost is shared between customers, workers and shareholders, in proportions economists argue about constantly. It raised **£95.1bn** in 2025–26, which is 10.1% of everything HMRC collects and 3.10% of the economy. That is up £4.2bn (4.6%) on the year before. Figures for the 2025–26 financial year. Source: [HM Revenue and Customs](https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/hmrc-tax-and-nics-receipts-for-the-uk). ## Key figures - £95.1bnRaised in 2025–26 ▲ - 10.1%Of everything HMRC collects ▼ 2025–26 - 3.10%Of the whole economy (GDP) ▬ 2025–26 - RecordThe most it has raised in real terms since 2006–07 Adjusted for inflation with the GDP deflator As of 6 April 2025 Sources: [HM Revenue and Customs](https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/hmrc-tax-and-nics-receipts-for-the-uk), [HM Treasury](https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/gdp-deflators-at-market-prices-and-money-gdp). ## What is the short version? - **How big:** £95.1bn in 2025–26, 10.1% of everything HMRC collects; after inflation, 59% more than in 2015–16. - **Latest change, 2023:** Corporation tax rises from 19% to 25% for larger companies, the first rise since 1974. - **Where it goes:** Apprenticeship funding, in one case only. - **The argument:** Companies use public infrastructure, courts and an educated workforce; against that, it is invisible: people cannot see what they are paying, so it escapes scrutiny. ## How much does it raise? **Taxes you pay indirectly receipts, cash and real terms** **The numbers behind this chart** | Financial year | Cash | Real, 2025-26 prices | | --- | --- | --- | | 2006–07Details | £44,875m | £73,456m | | Real, 2025-26 prices£73,456m | | | | 2007–08Details | £47,036m | £75,516m | | Real, 2025-26 prices£75,516m | | | | 2008–09Details | £43,927m | £67,990m | | Real, 2025-26 prices£67,990m | | | | 2009–10Details | £36,628m | £55,969m | | Real, 2025-26 prices£55,969m | | | | 2010–11Details | £43,040m | £64,666m | | Real, 2025-26 prices£64,666m | | | | 2011–12Details | £42,475m | £62,484m | | Real, 2025-26 prices£62,484m | | | | 2012–13Details | £39,841m | £57,610m | | Real, 2025-26 prices£57,610m | | | | 2013–14Details | £38,932m | £55,148m | | Real, 2025-26 prices£55,148m | | | | 2014–15Details | £41,091m | £57,395m | | Real, 2025-26 prices£57,395m | | | | 2015–16Details | £43,016m | £59,670m | | Real, 2025-26 prices£59,670m | | | | 2016–17Details | £48,017m | £65,298m | | Real, 2025-26 prices£65,298m | | | | 2017–18Details | £52,714m | £70,789m | | Real, 2025-26 prices£70,789m | | | | 2018–19Details | £54,381m | £71,400m | | Real, 2025-26 prices£71,400m | | | | 2019–20Details | £61,565m | £78,754m | | Real, 2025-26 prices£78,754m | | | | 2020–21Details | £50,486m | £61,375m | | Real, 2025-26 prices£61,375m | | | | 2021–22Details | £63,745m | £77,309m | | Real, 2025-26 prices£77,309m | | | | 2022–23Details | £77,894m | £88,264m | | Real, 2025-26 prices£88,264m | | | | 2023–24Details | £85,658m | £92,210m | | Real, 2025-26 prices£92,210m | | | | 2024–25Details | £90,915m | £94,047m | | Real, 2025-26 prices£94,047m | | | | 2025–26Details | £95,105m | £95,105m | | Real, 2025-26 prices£95,105m | | | Figures for the 2025–26 financial year. Source: [HM Revenue and Customs](https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/hmrc-tax-and-nics-receipts-for-the-uk), [HM Treasury](https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/gdp-deflators-at-market-prices-and-money-gdp). It raised more than the year before, but the other taxes grew faster, so its share of the total fell. **Taxes you pay indirectly as a share of the economy, 1916–17 to 2022–23** **The numbers behind this chart** Search | Financial year | % of GDP | | --- | --- | | 1916–17 | 3.906% | | 1919–20 | 5.308% | | 1922–23 | 0.441% | | 1925–26 | 0.268% | | 1938–39 | 0.399% | | 1941–42 | 3.103% | | 1944–45 | 5.157% | | 1947–48 | 2.672% | | 1950–51 | 2.101% | | 1953–54 | 1.524% | | 1956–57 | 0.945% | | 1959–60 | 1.053% | | 1962–63 | 1.301% | | 1965–66 | 1.168% | | 1968–69 | 2.869% | | 1971–72 | 2.403% | | 1974–75 | 2.912% | | 1977–78 | 2.013% | | 1980–81 | 1.736% | | 1983–84 | 1.727% | | 1986–87 | 2.962% | | 1989–90 | 3.41% | | 1992–93 | 2.138% | | 1995–96 | 2.721% | | 1998–99 | 2.971% | | 2001–02 | 2.828% | | 2004–05 | 2.866% | | 2007–08 | 3.006% | | 2010–11 | 2.694% | | 2013–14 | 2.252% | | 2016–17 | 2.653% | | 2019–20 | 2.283% | | 2022–23 | 3.12% | Figures for the 2022–23 financial year. Source: [Office for Budget Responsibility](https://obr.uk/data/). **How "real terms" is worked out** Real terms use HM Treasury's GDP deflator, rebased to 2025-26 prices. That is the measure the Treasury and the OBR use for public finances; the consumer price index is the right one for a shopping basket, not for the size of the state. ## How does it work? A tax on a company is not paid by the company in any meaningful sense. A company is a legal arrangement; the money comes from somewhere. Economists call working out where it actually lands tax incidence, and it is one of the least settled questions in public finance. There are three possible destinations. Customers pay through higher prices. Workers pay through lower wages than they would otherwise have had. Shareholders pay through lower returns, which includes anyone with a pension. Corporation tax is the biggest. The evidence suggests a substantial share falls on workers over time, especially in open economies where capital can move, but estimates range from about a fifth to more than half and honest economists disagree. **The taxes charged on businesses, 2025–26** - 1. Corporation tax £95.1bn - 2. Apprenticeship Levy £4.4bn - 3. Energy Profits Levy £2.6bn - 4. Bank Levy £1.4bn - 5. Bank Surcharge £1.2bn - 6. Digital Services Tax £944m - 7. Diverted Profits Tax £604m - 8. Residential Property Developer Tax £89m - 9. Electricity Generator Levy £41m - 10. Economic Crime Levy £21m HMRC cash receipts. Business rates are collected by councils, not HMRC, so they are not in this table; they are on the whole-system page. **Show as a table** | Name | Receipts, 2025–26 | | --- | --- | | 1. Corporation tax | £95.1bn | | 2. Apprenticeship Levy | £4.4bn | | 3. Energy Profits Levy | £2.6bn | | 4. Bank Levy | £1.4bn | | 5. Bank Surcharge | £1.2bn | | 6. Digital Services Tax | £944m | | 7. Diverted Profits Tax | £604m | | 8. Residential Property Developer Tax | £89m | | 9. Electricity Generator Levy | £41m | | 10. Economic Crime Levy | £21m | Figures for the 2025–26 financial year. Source: [HM Revenue and Customs](https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/hmrc-tax-and-nics-receipts-for-the-uk). Employer National Insurance is the clearest case. The OBR assumes most of it passes into lower wages within a few years, and the 2025 increase was explicitly analysed that way. Business rates are a property tax on the occupier. Because the supply of commercial property is fairly fixed, much of the burden shows up in lower rents over time rather than higher prices, so landlords bear more of it than tenants. The others are narrower. The Apprenticeship Levy funds training. The bank levy and surcharge apply to banks specifically. The Energy Profits Levy taxes North Sea oil and gas profits. The Digital Services Tax charges large digital businesses on UK revenues, and there is reasonable evidence that platforms passed it straight on to sellers as a fee. ## How has it changed? How it got here, and why each change was made: - **1965**Corporation tax is introduced as a separate tax on company profits. - **1990**Business rates are reformed into the national non-domestic rate, with the multiplier set centrally. - **2011**The bank levy is introduced after the financial crisis, charged on bank balance sheets. - **2017**The Apprenticeship Levy begins: 0.5% of payroll for large employers, refundable against training. - **2020**The Digital Services Tax begins at 2% of UK revenues for large search, social and marketplace businesses. - **2022**The Energy Profits Levy is introduced on North Sea oil and gas profits after prices spike. - **2023**Corporation tax rises from 19% to 25% for larger companies, the first rise since 1974. ## Where does the money go? **Apprenticeship funding, in one case only.** The Apprenticeship Levy is genuinely earmarked: employers draw it back down to fund training, and unspent funds expire. None of the others are. Corporation tax, business rates, the bank levy and the Energy Profits Levy all go into general taxation. Because it is not earmarked, the only honest way to show what it pays for is by proportion. If taxes you pay indirectly receipts of £95.1bn were spent in the same proportions as all public spending in 2025-26, they would break down like this. It is an illustration of scale, not a statement about where those particular pounds went. **If £95.1bn of taxes you pay indirectly were spent like all public money in 2025-26** - 1. Social protection, including the state pension £31.6bn 33.2% of spending - 2. Health £20.0bn 21% of spending - 3. Debt interest £10.1bn 10.6% of spending - 4. Education £9.7bn 10.2% of spending - 5. Economic affairs, including transport £7.3bn 7.7% of spending - 6. Defence £5.0bn 5.3% of spending - 7. Public order and safety £4.3bn 4.5% of spending - 8. General public services £2.8bn 2.9% of spending - 9. Housing and community £1.7bn 1.8% of spending - 10. Environment £1.5bn 1.6% of spending - 11. Culture, media and sport £1.1bn 1.2% of spending Spending shares from HM Treasury’s Public Expenditure Statistical Analyses. An illustration of scale, not where these particular pounds went. **Show as a table** | Name | Equivalent share of taxes you pay indirectly | | --- | --- | | 1. Social protection, including the state pension | £31.6bn | | 2. Health | £20.0bn | | 3. Debt interest | £10.1bn | | 4. Education | £9.7bn | | 5. Economic affairs, including transport | £7.3bn | | 6. Defence | £5.0bn | | 7. Public order and safety | £4.3bn | | 8. General public services | £2.8bn | | 9. Housing and community | £1.7bn | | 10. Environment | £1.5bn | | 11. Culture, media and sport | £1.1bn | See [for every £100 of tax](/for-every-100-pounds-of-tax/) for the full picture. ## Does it change what people do? The Digital Services Tax is the cleanest natural experiment. Several large platforms announced explicit fee increases for UK sellers within weeks of it taking effect, naming the tax as the reason. Close to full pass-through, visible in public pricing, which is rare. [When a tax rise stops raising money](/when-tax-rises-lose-revenue/) looks at the cases where the effect has been large enough to move the revenue. ## How does that compare with other countries? **In 2024 the UK raised 3.5% of GDP this way: seventh of the 12 countries compared here.** **Revenue from this heading as a share of GDP, 2024** - 1. Japan 5.1% - 2. Ireland 5.0% - 3. Canada 4.6% - 4. Netherlands 4.3% - 5. Denmark 4.2% - 6. Sweden 3.9% - ◆7. United Kingdom 3.5% - 8. Spain 3.0% - 9. Italy 2.7% - 10. France 2.3% - 11. United States 2.2% - 12. Germany 2.2% ◆ UK **Show as a table** | Name | Share of GDP | | --- | --- | | 1. Japan | 5.1% | | 2. Ireland | 5.0% | | 3. Canada | 4.6% | | 4. Netherlands | 4.3% | | 5. Denmark | 4.2% | | 6. Sweden | 3.9% | | 7. United Kingdom (UK) | 3.5% | | 8. Spain | 3.0% | | 9. Italy | 2.7% | | 10. France | 2.3% | | 11. United States | 2.2% | | 12. Germany | 2.2% | Figure as of 1 January 2024. Source: [OECD](https://data-explorer.oecd.org/vis?df[ds]=dsDisseminateFinalDMZ&df[id]=DSD_REV_COMP_OECD%40DF_RSOECD). The UK’s corporation tax rate is around the OECD average after the 2023 rise, having been well below it. Business rates, though, are among the highest property taxes on business in the developed world as a share of the economy. **What is being compared** The OECD heading is taxes on the income, profits and capital gains of corporations. Countries are those this site compares throughout, not the whole OECD, and a country appears only where it reports this heading for 2024. ## What are the arguments? ### The case for taxing businesses - Companies use public infrastructure, courts and an educated workforce. - Without it, income could be sheltered indefinitely inside companies. - Some of it does fall on shareholders, who tend to be wealthier. - It is harder to avoid than taxing the same profits when distributed. ### The case against - It is invisible: people cannot see what they are paying, so it escapes scrutiny. - Much of it lands on workers and customers anyway, just less transparently. - It discourages investment in a country where investment is already low. - Business rates penalise firms for occupying premises regardless of whether they make money. Both columns are set out as their strongest case, not as a preferred answer and a strawman. See [how this site handles contested questions](/neutrality/). ## Common questions Do I pay business taxes without realising it? Taxes charged on businesses that reach households anyway, through higher prices, lower wages or smaller pension pots. Formally, companies. In practice the cost is shared between customers, workers and shareholders, in proportions economists argue about constantly.How much does taxes you pay indirectly raise? £95.1bn in 2025–26, which is 10.1% of everything HMRC collects.Where does taxes you pay indirectly go? Apprenticeship funding, in one case only. The Apprenticeship Levy is genuinely earmarked: employers draw it back down to fund training, and unspent funds expire. None of the others are. Corporation tax, business rates, the bank levy and the Energy Profits Levy all go into general taxation. ## Use this data The figures belong to the bodies that published them and are used under their terms, listed in [Sources for this page](#sources); most are Crown copyright under the Open Government Licence. Only our own words, analysis, charts and derived calculations are ours, published under [CC BY 4.0](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/): reuse them, including commercially, if you credit [Tekstak Ltd](https://tek-stak.co.uk) and link back to this page. ### Download - [Taxes you pay indirectly receipts by financial year (CSV)](/data/receipts-corporation-tax.csv) [JSON](/data/receipts-corporation-tax.json) HM Revenue and Customs: [Open Government Licence v3.0](https://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence/version/3/) - [Public sector receipts as a share of GDP since 1900 (CSV)](/data/obr-total-receipts-share-gdp.csv) [JSON](/data/obr-total-receipts-share-gdp.json) Office for Budget Responsibility: [Open Government Licence v3.0](https://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence/version/3/) - [Total HMRC receipts by financial year (CSV)](/data/receipts-total.csv) [JSON](/data/receipts-total.json) HM Revenue and Customs: [Open Government Licence v3.0](https://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence/version/3/) - [All data, field definitions and licences](/data/) ### Embed the live figure Paste this into your page. It updates itself every night and links back here. Embed code ## Sources for this page | Source | Publisher | Figures as of | Updated | Licence | | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | | [HMRC tax receipts and National Insurance contributions for the UK](https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/hmrc-tax-and-nics-receipts-for-the-uk) | HM Revenue and Customs | the 2025–26 financial year | annual | [Open Government Licence v3.0](https://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence/version/3/) | | [Historical public finances database](https://obr.uk/data/) | Office for Budget Responsibility | the 2022–23 financial year | annual | [Open Government Licence v3.0](https://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence/version/3/) | | [GDP deflators at market prices, and money GDP](https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/gdp-deflators-at-market-prices-and-money-gdp) | HM Treasury | the 2025–26 financial year | annual | [Open Government Licence v3.0](https://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence/version/3/) | | [Revenue Statistics: comparative tables](https://data-explorer.oecd.org/vis?df[ds]=dsDisseminateFinalDMZ&df[id]=DSD_REV_COMP_OECD%40DF_RSOECD) | OECD | 1 January 2024 | annual | [CC BY 4.0 (OECD)](https://www.oecd.org/en/about/terms-conditions.html) | Each source's figures are used under the licence shown. Our own words, analysis, charts and derived calculations are ours, under [CC BY 4.0](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). ## Related pages - [Next in this section: The overall tax burden](https://whereyourmoneygoes.co.uk/the-tax-burden/) - [How much of my energy bill is tax?](https://whereyourmoneygoes.co.uk/tax-on-energy-bills/) - [How much tax is in petrol?](https://whereyourmoneygoes.co.uk/tax-on-petrol/) - [How much does the state charge for passports, licences, certificates and other services?](https://whereyourmoneygoes.co.uk/government-fees/) ## More from this publisher - [UK tax calculators](https://howlongisit.co.uk) Published by [Tekstak Ltd](https://tek-stak.co.uk). Our words, analysis, charts and derived calculations: CC BY 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), credit [Tekstak Ltd](https://tek-stak.co.uk). The figures belong to the publishers listed under Sources and are used under their licences. Figures last updated 29 September 2026.