UK pensioners 'pay an average annual tax bill of £3,500', research reveals

12 Jul 2018

An analysis carried out by insurer Royal London has revealed that the average annual tax bill for taxpayers over the state pension age totals £3,522.

Royal London used the Freedom of Information Act to collect data on taxpayers over the state pension age from local authorities in the UK. The last year for which detailed figures were available was for the tax year 2015/16, and the analysis revealed that:

  • 3.87 million men pay an average annual bill of £4,341, while three million women pay an average bill of £2,467
  • more than a quarter of tax-paying pensioners are still in paid work: 1.5 million individuals have employment income, whilst 0.5 million have income from self-employment
  • UK pensioners paid a total of £24 billion in income tax in 2015/16, of which £21 billion came from England, £1.7 billion came from Scotland, £0.8 billion from Wales and £0.4 billion from Northern Ireland.

Commenting on the analysis, Steve Webb, Director of Policy at Royal London, said: ‘Many people might assume that, once you retire, you cease to be of interest to the taxman, but these figures show this is very far from being the truth. The number of tax-paying pensioners has nearly doubled in the last two decades.

‘When planning for retirement, it is vital to remember that the tax office will still want a slice of your income, which reinforces the need to put aside enough to secure a decent standard of living, even after the taxman has had his slice.’

Register for our newsletter

Once a month we'll send you an email packed full of essential business news and handy tax tips to help save you money.

Register

Weston-super-Mare

34 Boulevard
Weston-super-Mare
Somerset
BS23 1NF

01934 415022


Home | Contact us | Accessibility | Disclaimer & Privacy Policy | Help | Site map |

© 2024 Four Fifty Partnership. All rights reserved.

We use cookies on this website, you can find more information about cookies here.


Registered to carry on audit work in the UK by the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales. Details about our audit registration can be found at auditregister.org.uk under the reference C001092613.

"four fifty partnership" is a trading name of Four Fifty Partnership Limited. Registered in England. Company Number 5032008. Registered Office 34 Boulevard, Weston super Mare, Somerset BS23 1NF.

Directors: Richard Acreman BSc CTA, Joy Boswell FCCA FCA, Peter Ison BA FCA and Nick Gravell FCCA FCA.

Professional Indemnity Insurers: Nexus Underwriting Limited, 52-56 Leadenhall Street, London, EC3A 2EB (Policy Number: 44402654). The territorial coverage is worldwide excluding professional business carried out from an office in the United States of America or Canada and excludes any action for a claim brought in any court in the United States of America or Canada.