In this section: Every tax
The overall tax burden
Last updated . Figures refresh every night. How each figure is worked out.
Public sector current receipts are 40.3% of GDP. The highest was 43.3% in 1949–50, so today is below the peak but high by historical standards. The series comes from the OBR's historical public finances database and runs from 1900–01. It is a National Accounts measure, so it is wider than HMRC's own receipts: it includes council tax, business rates and other public sector income.
Figures for the 2022–23 financial year. Source: Office for Budget Responsibility.
Key figures
- 40.3%Public sector receipts as a share of GDP up on a year earlier: +0.9 points (+2.4%) vs 2021–22
- 43.3%The highest in the series, 1949–50 Series from 1900–01
- 34.4%UK tax revenue as a share of GDP, OECD measure down on a year earlier: −0.6 points (−1.7%) vs 2023
- 34.1%OECD average, same measure The UK is 9th highest of the 11 countries compared here
- 30.6%HMRC receipts alone, as a share of GDP up on a year earlier: +1.3 points (+4.4%) vs 2024–25
Sources: Office for Budget Responsibility, OECD, HM Revenue and Customs.
What is the short version?
- The shape is war: receipts rose through both world wars and never returned to pre-war levels; the welfare state and the NHS were built on that higher base.
- Against other countries: on the OECD's measure the UK raised 34.4% of GDP in 2024, above the 34.1% OECD average and well below Denmark, the highest of the countries compared, at 45.2%.
- The recent rise: threshold freezes since 2021 have raised the burden without any headline rate going up.
- Read the measure: the three standard measures differ by several points of GDP, and a share of GDP also rises when the economy shrinks.
How does today compare with the past?
The numbers behind this chart
| Financial year | % of GDP |
|---|---|
| 1900–01 | 10.299% |
| 1905–06 | 11.918% |
| 1910–11 | 12.596% |
| 1915–16 | 14.748% |
| 1920–21 | 22.407% |
| 1925–26 | 24.024% |
| 1930–31 | 25.453% |
| 1935–36 | 25.441% |
| 1940–41 | 28.349% |
| 1945–46 | 39.476% |
| 1950–51 | 42.841% |
| 1955–56 | 35.968% |
| 1960–61 | 33.456% |
| 1965–66 | 36.957% |
| 1970–71 | 40.035% |
| 1975–76 | 40.117% |
| 1980–81 | 38.486% |
| 1985–86 | 38.285% |
| 1990–91 | 33.904% |
| 1995–96 | 33.186% |
| 2000–01 | 36.473% |
| 2005–06 | 36.702% |
| 2010–11 | 37.008% |
| 2015–16 | 36.854% |
| 2020–21 | 38.056% |
| 2022–23 | 40.288% |
Figures for the 2022–23 financial year. Source: Office for Budget Responsibility.
The shape of that line is mostly war and its aftermath. Receipts were a small fraction of the economy before 1914, rose sharply through the First World War, fell back, rose again through the Second, and never returned to pre-war levels. The modern welfare state and the NHS were built on that higher base and have held it there.
What has moved it?
These are the events that changed the level, not just the trend.
- 1914–18The First World War. Income tax rates multiply and the base widens far beyond the wealthy.
- 1939–45The Second World War. PAYE is introduced in 1944 to collect from a mass workforce.
- 1948The NHS and the modern welfare state lock in a permanently higher level of spending, and therefore receipts.
- 1979A deliberate shift from taxing income to taxing spending: income tax rates cut, VAT nearly doubled.
- 1990–93The poll tax is introduced and abandoned; council tax replaces it.
- 2008–10The financial crisis. Receipts fall as a share of GDP as the economy contracts, then are rebuilt.
- 2021–28Threshold freezes raise the burden without any headline rate rising. See frozen thresholds.
What should you be careful about when reading it?
Definitions move the answer. "Tax burden" can mean HMRC receipts, National Accounts taxes, or all public sector current receipts. They differ by several percentage points of GDP. A claim that the burden is at a record high is usually true on one measure and arguable on another, so this page names the measure every time.
A share of GDP is a ratio. It rises when tax rises and also when the economy shrinks. The sharp moves around 2008 and 2020 are as much about the denominator as the numerator.
How does it compare with other countries?
In 2024 the UK raised 34.4% of GDP in tax on the OECD's measure, 9th of the 11 countries compared here, above the OECD average of 34.1%.
This is a different measure again from the one charted above: the OECD counts tax revenue for general government on its own classification, so that a country which funds health through social security contributions is compared like for like with one that funds it from income tax. Over the last 35 years the UK figure has moved from 32.9% in 1990 to 34.4% in 2024 .
The countries are the ones this site compares throughout, chosen to span the range rather than to make a point: France and the Nordic countries tax more than the UK, the United States and Ireland much less.
Is it too high?
The case that it is too high
- It is at or near its highest sustained level outside wartime.
- Much of the rise came from frozen thresholds rather than an argued-for rate rise.
- Higher taxes on work and investment reduce the growth that would raise revenue anyway.
- A larger state crowds out private decisions about how money is spent.
The case that it is not
- The UK raises less as a share of GDP than France, Germany or the Nordic countries.
- An ageing population raises health and pension costs whoever is in office.
- Lower receipts mean either more borrowing or fewer services, and both have costs.
- The level reflects what the public consistently says it wants from the state.
Common questions
- Is the UK tax burden the highest it has ever been?
- Public sector receipts are 40.3% of GDP, against a peak of 43.3% in 1949–50. Whether today counts as a record depends on which of the three standard measures is used, which is why this page names it.
- How does the UK compare with other countries?
- The UK raises less as a share of GDP than France, Germany, Italy or the Nordic countries, and more than the United States, Ireland or Switzerland. It sits around the middle of the OECD.
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The figures belong to the bodies that published them and are used under their terms, listed in Sources for this page; 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: reuse them, including commercially, if you credit Tekstak Ltd and link back to this page.
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- Public sector current receipts as a share of GDP, long run (CSV) JSON Office for Budget Responsibility: Open Government Licence v3.0
- HMRC receipts as a share of GDP (CSV) JSON HM Revenue and Customs: Open Government Licence v3.0
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Sources for this page
| Source | Publisher | Figures as of | Updated | Licence |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Historical public finances database | Office for Budget Responsibility | the 2022–23 financial year | annual | Open Government Licence v3.0 |
| HMRC tax receipts and National Insurance contributions for the UK | HM Revenue and Customs | the 2025–26 financial year | annual | Open Government Licence v3.0 |
| Revenue Statistics: comparative tables | OECD | 1 January 2024 | annual | CC BY 4.0 (OECD) |
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.