HMRC data · 2024-25

28.2%

Share of all UK income tax paid by the top 1% (HMRC 2024-25)

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The top 1% of income taxpayers pay 28.2% of all UK income tax while earning 13.3% of total income, according to HMRC figures for 2024-25.

The top 10% pay 60.2% of all income tax. Total UK income tax receipts reached £302.8 billion in 2024/25.

Yet at the very top, effective tax rates can fall, because capital gains and dividends are taxed below salary. The UK has no annual wealth tax.

The rich pay a large share of income tax. On the most common measure, high earners carry a disproportionate and growing load. In 2024-25 the top 1% of income taxpayers paid 28.2% of all income tax while earning just 13.3% of total income — around 2.1 times their share of income, up from 1.9 times two decades ago. The top 10% paid 60.2% of all income tax. Total UK income tax receipts were £302.8 billion in 2024/25 (HMRC).

But "income tax on high earners" isn't the whole story. Those figures measure income tax on high salaries. Wealth is not the same as income: a "millionaire" is defined by the assets they own, not the salary they earn, and the UK has no annual wealth tax. Someone can hold very large assets while showing modest taxable income — so the distribution of income tax does not, on its own, tell you how heavily the wealthiest are taxed.

At the very top, effective rates can fall. Research by Advani and Summers (Oxford Open Economics, 2024) finds that effective average tax rates peak at about 38% at around £500,000 of remuneration and then decline above that — the system becomes regressive at the very top. This is because the very wealthy often take income as capital gains or dividends, which are taxed below salary: Capital Gains Tax is 18% or 24%, Business Asset Disposal Relief is 14%, and dividends are taxed at up to 39.35%, all below the 45% additional rate on earnings. As a result, some of the very richest pay a lower effective rate than people on ordinary incomes.

Bottom line. Whether the rich "pay their fair share" depends on what you measure. Judged by income tax on large salaries, high earners pay a great deal — a share far above their share of income, and rising. Judged by effective rates on total remuneration at the very top, the system can be regressive, because gains and dividends are taxed more lightly than salary. Both things are true at once. We present both and reach no verdict.

Sources: HMRC income tax statistics 2024-25; Advani & Summers, Oxford Open Economics 2024 (LSE / Warwick CAGE) · Last reviewed July 2026

How much tax do the top 1% pay in the UK?

In 2024-25 the top 1% of income taxpayers paid 28.2% of all income tax while earning 13.3% of total income — about 2.1 times their share of income, up from 1.9 times two decades ago. The top 10% paid 60.2% of all income tax.

Do the very rich pay lower tax rates than ordinary workers?

They can. Research by Advani and Summers finds effective average tax rates peak around 38% at about £500,000 of income and then fall for those above it. This is because the very wealthy often take income as capital gains or dividends, which are taxed well below the 45% top rate on salary — so some of the richest pay a lower effective rate than people on ordinary incomes.

What is the top rate of tax in the UK?

The additional rate of income tax is 45% on income above £125,140. But capital gains are taxed at 18% or 24%, gains under Business Asset Disposal Relief at 14%, and dividends at up to 39.35% — so how income is received changes the effective rate significantly.

Does the UK have a wealth tax?

No. The UK has no annual tax on net wealth. Assets are taxed mainly when income or gains arise, or at death through inheritance tax. This is why a "millionaire" (a measure of wealth) and a top income taxpayer are not the same thing.

Type of income	Tax rate
Salary / earnings (income tax)	20% / 40% / 45%
Capital gains	18% / 24%
Business Asset Disposal Relief	14%
Dividends	8.75% / 33.75% / 39.35%