Where does the government get its money?
The nutshell
The government needs money to pay for things like schools, hospitals and roads. Most of that money comes from taxes, and the government borrows the rest when it plans to spend more than it collects.
Every fact on this page comes from official figures and non-partisan explainers. Each source tag — like HoC — opens where a fact comes from.
The basics
Where most of the money comes from
The government pays for public services like the NHS, schools, the police and roads. Most of the money for that comes from taxes. The three taxes that raise the most are Income Tax, National Insurance and VAT. Together those three bring in close to 60 pence of every pound the government collects.HoC
What those three taxes are
Income Tax is a slice of the money a worker earns from a job. National Insurance is a second tax on earnings, paid by workers and by employers. VAT stands for Value Added Tax, and it is added to the price of most things bought in shops.HoC The government also raises smaller amounts from many other taxes, like the duty on fuel and the tax on company profits.HoC
When the government borrows
Some years the government plans to spend more than it collects in tax. The Office for Budget Responsibility explains that, when spending is higher than the money raised, the government borrows to cover the gap. That gap is called the deficit.OBR Borrowing then has to be paid back in later years.
How the plans are set each year
Once a year the government sets out its tax and spending plans in the Budget. The Institute for Government explains that the Chancellor of the Exchequer gives a Budget speech to the House of Commons, setting new taxes and changes to old ones.IfG The rules for each tax are then written into a law called the Finance Act.HoC
- Most government money comes from taxes on what people earn and what people spend, not from one single source
- The House of Commons Library records that Income Tax, National Insurance and VAT together raise close to 60% of all government income
- The Office for Budget Responsibility explains that any gap between spending and tax is filled by borrowing
- Council tax and business rates go to local councils, not the central government, and count separately from the main national taxes
- The Office for Budget Responsibility notes that borrowing is not free, because it adds to the national debt that interest is paid on each year
- The House of Commons Library records that the mix of taxes shifts over time, with more raised from VAT today than in the past
The deep end6 min
The shape of government income
The House of Commons Library records that Income Tax, National Insurance and VAT together raise just under 60% of all government receipts. In 2025/26 those three taxes were expected to raise around £718 billion in total.HoCIncome Tax alone raised about £306 billion in 2024/25, with National Insurance and VAT each a little over £170 billion.HoC
The many smaller taxes
Beyond the big three, the government raises money from a long list of smaller taxes. These include the tax on company profits, called Corporation Tax, duties on fuel, alcohol and tobacco, and a tax on buying a home.HoC No single one of these raises as much as Income Tax, but added together the smaller taxes make up a large share of the total.HoC
Spending, borrowing and the deficit
When total spending is higher than total receipts in a year, the government borrows to cover the difference, which the Office for Budget Responsibility calls the deficit, or public sector net borrowing.OBR For 2025/26 the OBR expected the government to raise about £1,235 billion and to spend about £1,368 billion, leaving a deficit of around £133 billion.OBRBorrowing adds to the national debt, and interest has to be paid on that debt each year.
What gets debated
Little debate is about whether the government needs money at all. Most argument is about the mix — which taxes raise it, how high each tax should be, and how much the government should borrow. The Institute for Government explains that these choices are set out at the Budget, where the Chancellor announces new taxes and changes to existing ones.IfG How high tax and borrowing should be is a political choice, and the main parties put different plans to voters at each election.