More than seven million people are liable for higher rate income tax, marking a jump of nearly two-fifths compared with 2022-23, according to HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) figures.

There are a projected 7.08 million higher rate income tax payers in tax year 2025-26, the revenue body said.

This is up from 5.10 million people who were in this bracket in 2022-23.

It also marks a 2.65 million increase compared with the 4.43 million higher rate income tax payers in 2021-22.

There are also a projected 1.23 million additional rate income tax payers in 2025-26, compared with around 570,000 in 2022-23 and 520,000 in 2021-22.

Some 39.10 million people are projected to be income tax payers in 2025-26, up from 34.50 million income tax payers in tax year 2022-23 and 33.00 million in 2021-22.

Frozen tax thresholds have pushed people into higher brackets as their pay has increased.

Sarah Coles, head of personal finance, Hargreaves Lansdown said: “Fiscal drag has hauled over six million more people into paying income tax, and 3.36 million more into paying higher or additional rate tax.

“We’ve had to hand over an extra £89 billion in income tax this year – compared to 2021-22 – as a result.

“It has had a devastating impact on the tax we pay on our earnings, but that’s not the end of it, because it also takes a huge chunk out of our savings and investments. It reveals just how much damage is being done to our finances by this horrible stealth tax – and there’s plenty more to come.

“Income tax thresholds are set to stay until 2028, but as the debate around the Government finances intensifies, the risk that the freeze remains for even longer can’t be ruled out.”

Neela Chauhan, a partner at UHY Hacker Young said: “Though it might seem equitable for higher earners to be paying more tax, there are real concerns over the impacts of placing an ever higher tax burden on high earners.”

Laura Suter, director of personal finance at AJ Bell, said: “The figures published today show that in just the past year alone, from 2024-25 to the current 2025-26 tax year, a further half a million people are estimated to move into the higher rate taxpayer bracket.

“They now account for almost a fifth (18.1% in 2025-26) of all taxpayers, illustrating that the higher rate of tax, once reserved for those on healthy salaries, is now pretty commonplace.”

She added: “It’s not just working age people who have faced this rising tax tide, pensioners are being hit too. The frozen tax bands combined with chunky increases in the state pension mean that more pensioners are becoming taxpayers.”

A Treasury spokesperson said “This Government inherited the previous government’s policy of frozen tax thresholds.

“At the budget and the spring statement, the Chancellor announced that we would not extend that freeze. We are also protecting payslips for working people by keeping our promise to not raise the basic, higher or additional rates of income tax, employee national insurance or VAT.

“That’s the plan for change – protecting people’s incomes and putting money into people’s pockets.”