How much tax the UK’s biggest companies pay

The UK’s biggest companies generated an estimated £93 billion in tax during the 2024/25 financial year, according to PwC’s 21st annual report on the Total Tax Contribution (TTC) of the 100 Group.

The report was compiled from data provided by 88 of the largest companies in the UK and has been extrapolated to estimate the overall contribution of the 100 Group as a whole.

The data shows that overall TTC of the 100 Group decreased by 0.4% compared to 2023/24, mainly due to profits declining by over 12%, while taxes borne decreased by 2.8%.

For the year ended 31 March 2025, the companies contributed £31 billion in taxes borne – those that are a direct cost to the company, including Corporation Tax – and a further £62 billion in taxes collected, such as income tax and employee national insurance contributions (NICs) deducted under PAYE.

The 100 Group employed approximately 1.9 million people in 2024/25, or 5.6% of the total UK workforce, paying an average wage of £46,112 (national average wage is £39,039) and contributing employment taxes of £15,326 per employee on average.

Breakdown of taxes paid

The largest tax borne by the companies was Corporation Tax at 31.2% of total taxes borne, representing 10.7% of total UK government Corporation Tax receipts.

For every £1 of the Corporation Tax, the 100 Group companies paid another £2.20 in other taxes borne, and £6.47 in taxes collected. Employer NICs is the second largest tax borne at 27.0% of total taxes borne, followed by Business Rates (15.6%) and irrecoverable VAT (12.6%).

Employment taxes at 31.0% are the largest share of taxes collected (income tax deducted under PAYE: 26.1% and Employee NIC: 4.9%) followed by fuel duties at 22.8%.

Taxes borne decreased by 2.8% in 2024/25, while taxes collected increased by 0.8%. The TTC in 2025 is £0.3 billion lower than in 2024 and represents 9.5% of total expected UK government receipts for 2024/25.

The decrease in taxes borne was driven by Corporation Tax and Energy Profits Levy as profits decreased, particularly for energy companies and utilities.

Alongside tax contributions, business investment provides significant indirect impacts on the wider economy.

The report highlights that total capital investment increased 14.3% year-on-year, reaching £33.3 billion in 2024/25. This represents 10.8% of UK expenditure on business investment. Meanwhile, R&D expenditure totalled £11.4 billion, an increase of 2.8%.