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• Nearly two million additional UK residents have been dragged into higher-rate income tax since 2019, with frozen thresholds creating a mounting burden for British taxpayers.
• HM Revenue and Customs figures reveal 5.76 million people paid the 40% higher rate in 2023/24, marking a staggering 50% increase from 3.83 million in 2019/20. The higher-rate threshold has remained frozen at £50,271 since 2021/22, despite wages rising with inflation.
• Chancellor Rachel Reeves confirmed the freeze will continue until 2030/31, meaning more Britons will experience "fiscal drag" as their incomes push them into higher tax brackets. Higher-rate taxpayers now represent nearly one in six of all UK taxpayers, up from one in eight four years ago.
• The additional rate of 45% has seen an even more dramatic surge, with numbers jumping 57% from 570,000 to 893,000 taxpayers in just one year. These top earners, representing just 2.4% of all taxpayers, shoulder 37.7% of total income tax collected.
• Sarah Coles from AJ Bell warned: "Frozen tax thresholds mean this is only going to get worse for everyone. In this environment, it's vital to make plans to ensure you don't pay more than your fair share of tax."
• The figures highlight how higher and additional-rate taxpayers now contribute almost 70% of all income tax revenue between them.

READ THE FULL STORY: New HMRC personal tax allowance update after Reeves decision 'means it'll get worse'