Record £126.4bn January tax take for HMRC
January 2026 has been yet another record-breaking month for HMRC’s tax take, say leading audit, tax and business advisory firm, Blick Rothenberg.
Tom Goddard, an assistant manager at the firm, said: “HMRC’s latest statistics show January culminated in a record total tax taking of £126.4bn. A real bounty for the Revenue and the Chancellor, Rachel Reeves.”
He added: “January 2024 yielded £107.7bn and January 2025 £112bn. The January 2026 figure marks an increase in total HMRC receipts of £14.4bn, or 8.4% up on the previous year.”
Tom said: “The largest individual element of January 2026’s takings is income tax, which makes up 42% of the government’s haul and comes in at £53bn.The statistics show many were waiting until the final month to set their tax affairs in order. As the deadline for the filing of self-assessment tax returns and payment of any outstanding tax due is 31 January, the stark increase in tax takings for the month of January do seem to evidence the nation’s tendency to leave things to the last minute! National Insurance Contributions (NIC) were the next big contributor with a total taking of £18.6bn for the year (or 14.7%).”
He added: “Capital gains tax is also due for payment by 31st January, and whilst the month of December 2024 only brought in a ‘measly’ £231mn, the January 2026 figure amounted to a much larger £20.5bn. Capital gains tax itself makes up 13.4% of the total January 2026 haul. No doubt many were spurred into crystallising assets held at a gain prior to October 2024, before the main rate of capital gains tax increased from 20% to 24%.”
Tom said: “Although many might have pencilled in January 2026 as the month in which total receipts surmounted to £1tn figure, HMRC will, for now, have to settle with yet another record-breaking year for tax receipts, with total HMRC receipts amounting to ‘just’ £924.3bn.”
He added: “Release of the statistics will no doubt be welcome news for Rachel Reeves and the Prime Minister, Keir Starmer, as publications this week show a five-year high in unemployment rates. Coupled with sluggish economic growth and wage growth cooling, the availability of some extra capital as a result of the increased tax takings by HMRC may help to alleviate some of these woes, provided it is deployed wisely.”