Tax receipts reach record 322 billion pounds

HMRC collected £322.7bn in total tax and national insurance contributions between April and July 2026, marking a £19.1bn increase on the same four-month period last year. The surge in tax intake was largely driven by robust receipts from personal and corporate taxation.

Wealth experts warn that approaching legislative reforms will soon pull significantly more client wealth into the Treasury’s net.

Income tax, capital gains tax and national insurance contributions generated £189.8bn between April and July, rising 7% (£13.2bn) year on year, primarily bolstered by £173.2bn in PAYE receipts.

Individual capital gains tax receipts for July alone reached £194m, up from £165m in July 2025, following a record £22.2bn haul across the 2025/26 tax year.

With the Office for Budget Responsibility projecting annual capital gains tax takings to reach £34.9bn by 2030/31, industry figures have highlighted growing competitiveness concerns.

Simon Martin, head of UK technical services at Utmost, said: “Capital gains tax receipts remain raised following a record year for the Treasury, with higher rates introduced at the Autumn Budget 2024 and the fiscal drag drawing ever more individuals into the capital gains tax net.

“While the OBR forecasts capital gains tax receipts to make even larger contributions for the Treasury in the coming years, the increasing tax burden on gains from investments, property and business assets risks making the UK less attractive to internationally mobile investors, entrepreneurs and business owners, particularly when other jurisdictions are offering more favourable tax regimes.”

Inheritance tax takings also continued their upward march, reaching £3.2bn for the four-month window, a £0.1bn rise year on year, buoyed by frozen thresholds, rising asset values, and a record monthly intake in June 2026.

Ian Dyall, head of estate planning at Evelyn Partners, noted that while the growth of inheritance tax receipts has slowed due to moderating property values in London and the South East, “no one should let this lull them into complacency over the potential reach of inheritance tax”.

Dyall said: “We have not yet seen the effects of the restrictions to agricultural property and business reliefs that came in this April. And the scope of inheritance tax will increase dramatically from next April, when unspent pension assets become part of savers’ estates, not least as bullish equity markets have boosted pension pots in recent years.

“That will mean more families will become subject to inheritance tax and estates that are already facing an inheritance tax bill could be looking at an even greater one. The beneficiaries of those older than 75 are at risk of a super-sized tax burden from next April as they could also pay income tax at their marginal rate when they withdraw funds from the pension, after it’s already been depleted by inheritance tax.

“That could mean they end up with not much more than a third of the value of the pension left by the saver.”

Dyall added that mitigating action, including lifetime gifting, utilising the normal expenditure out of income exemption, review of beneficiary nominations, and whole of life policies written into trust, will be essential for clients ahead of next year’s rules.

Business taxes climbed 13% to £31.6bn on strong onshore Corporation Tax payments.

VAT brought in £64.8bn, and Stamp Taxes rose 8% to £6.9bn, with the figures landing alongside a net £3.0bn downward revision to previously published provisional data for April to June 2026, reflecting HMRC’s newly introduced monthly accounting alignment process and the correction of a £0.7bn VAT overstatement from June.

HMRC’s tax receipts are closely watched by experts and investors, who use them as an indicator of the UK’s economic health, and cash reserves held by companies can have a significant impact on their tax liability.