Record number of Brits now paying highest rates of tax

Latest News

Record number of Brits now paying highest rates of tax

By Adam Cadle

03/03/2018

The proportion of Britons paying the highest rates of tax is now at a record level and double that of 20 years ago.

According to latest figures released by HMRC, almost five million people - one in six earners - now pay either the 40% or 45%ate of income tax, up from one in 12, 20 years ago.

The research showed that the 400,000 people who pay the top rate of tax at 45% now contribute almost as much to the exchequer as the 25 million basic-rate taxpayers combined.

HMRC has estimated that the rise to the starting threshold for the 40% band to £45,000 in the current tax-year is likely to see the number of higher-rate taxpayers fall back slightly but the number will be more than two and a half times higher than the 1.7 million people who paid the top rate in 1994.

The UK housing market in 2024

The performance of the UK housing market in 2024 has largely exceeded many people's expectations, although challenges remain for first-time buyers due to house prices increasing and a testing rental market for many. Regional disparities, such as the North-South divide, also continue to influence housing accessibility and affordability for many buyers in pockets of the country.

Intergenerational lending

MoneyAge News Editor, Michael Griffiths, hosts Family Building Society BDMs, Amar Mashru and Arif Kara, to discuss intergenerational lending and explore ways that buyers can use family income to help increase their borrowing capacity when applying for a mortgage

Helping landlords make their cash work harder

MoneyAge Editor, Adam Cadle, talks to Family Building Society BDMs, Arif Kara and Nathan Waller, about the resilient BTL market, the wide variety of landlords that Family Building Society caters for, and how niche products like an Offset mortgage can help improve cashflow.