{"id":745247,"date":"2026-08-21T15:42:11","date_gmt":"2026-08-21T15:42:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/745247\/"},"modified":"2026-08-21T15:42:11","modified_gmt":"2026-08-21T15:42:11","slug":"hmrc-drawing-millions-into-paying-more-tax-in-stealth-raid-via-fiscal-drag","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/745247\/","title":{"rendered":"HMRC ‘drawing millions into paying more tax’ in stealth raid via fiscal drag"},"content":{"rendered":"

HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) is “drawing millions into paying more tax” under a stealth raid, experts warn.<\/p>\n

The latest figures show the tax authority raked in \u00a3322.7billion in tax and National Insurance contributions during the opening four months of the 2026\/27 fiscal year, surpassing the equivalent period last year by \u00a319.1billion.<\/p>\n

The lion’s share of that increase came from income tax, capital gains tax and National Insurance contributions, which together delivered an additional \u00a313.2billion, a rise of seven per cent in percentage terms.<\/p>\n

Business taxes contributed a further \u00a33.7billion uplift, representing a 13 per cent jump, while VAT added \u00a31billion to the coffers. Stamp taxes also climbed by eight per cent over the same stretch.<\/p>\n

\"Man‘Stealth tax’ warning as millions could be hit with a bill worth thousands | GETTY <\/p>\n

The only category to register a decline was environmental taxes, which fell by \u00a3100million; representing a drop of around seven per cent.<\/p>\n

Helen Morrissey, head of retirement analysis at Hargreaves Lansdown, pointed to fiscal drag as the driving force behind the ballooning tax haul.<\/p>\n

She said: “The tax take continues to soar as fiscal drag draws more people into paying more tax and at higher rates.<\/p>\n

“Getting that pay rise, bonus or promotion is a source for celebration but could also tip you into a higher tax band; this not only leaves you paying tax at a higher rate but it can also mean you lose valuable tax-free allowances and hike up the tax rate you face on savings interest or capital gains.”<\/p>\n

\"\"\/\"StandardHow much more will you pay by 2031 due to fiscal drag? | STANDARD LIFE<\/p>\n

Fiscal drag commonly occurs when tax allowances are frozen while wages or inflation rise, resulting in people being dragged into higher HMRC tax brackets.<\/p>\n

Ms Morrisey added: “You may also find you stand to lose valuable benefits such as tax-free childcare or become subject to the high-income child benefit tax.”<\/p>\n

However, the financial analyst noted that there are steps taxpayers can take to blunt the impact of frozen thresholds.<\/p>\n

Ms Morrisey shared: “Making the most of your ISA allowances can shelter your money from savings interest, capital gains and dividend tax.<\/p>\n

\"HMRCTax receipts, including income tax, CGT and National Insurance, over recent years | HMRC <\/p>\n

“Meanwhile, pension contributions can play a role in keeping your income below tax thresholds which can allow you to keep key benefits as well as paying less tax.<\/p>\n

“The clock continues to tick down to unused defined contribution pensions being part of your estate for inheritance tax purposes.<\/p>\n

“It’s a change that will boost the receipts of a tax that has already surged in recent years.”<\/p>\n

Those affected by the inheritance tax changes are likely to explore gifting as a means of shrinking their estates, Ms Morrissey explained.<\/p>\n

“Some will start making gifts now in a bid to reduce the value of their estate. There are various allowances that can be used whereby the money leaves your estate for inheritance tax purposes immediately.”<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) is “drawing millions into paying more tax” under a stealth raid, experts warn.…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":745248,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[84,59,2218,2222,474,56,54,55],"class_list":["post-745247","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-business","tag-business","tag-gb","tag-hmrc","tag-money","tag-tax","tag-uk","tag-united-kingdom","tag-unitedkingdom"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/745247","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=745247"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/745247\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/745248"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=745247"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=745247"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=745247"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}