HMRC’s latest figures show a surge in tax revenues for April 2025, with £80.2 billion collected – up £4.3bn year on year. Despite a 4% cut in employee NICs, employer National Insurance contributions hit a record £12.66bn, reflecting March liabilities and not showing the full impact of April’s hike. This puts the government on track to raise as much as £24bn annually from employer NIC increases alone.

Inheritance tax (IHT) also spiked, rising 14% monthly to £780 million. While high-value estates can skew monthly figures, the annual IHT take has reached £8.34bn – up from £7.58bn last year – driven by frozen thresholds and uncertainty around traditionally exempt assets like pensions and AIM shares.

Income tax revenue climbed sharply, up £2.41bn yearly to £29.82bn. Frozen thresholds again played a significant role, adding an estimated £2.5bn to taxpayers’ bills.

Stamp taxes rose by a third, mainly due to a rush to beat the end of post-COVID SDLT reliefs. SDLT alone brought in £1.30bn. Meanwhile, VAT reached £18.3bn – nearly £2bn more than April 2023 – supported by inflation and rising prices.

Fuel duty brought in £2bn, despite falling pump prices, and may come under review as EV adoption increases.

Interestingly, penalty revenues fell to £830m for the year to April, down from £1.14bn, even as the overall tax burden continues to grow.

Talk to us about your finances.