IPT nets £1.3bn in November as Treasury on track for record year

Insurance Premium Tax (IPT) has raised £6.78bn for the Treasury across the first eight months of the 2025/26 financial year, according to the latest data from HMRC.

Earnings in the period – which covers April to November 2025 – were up £125m on the previous year, when £6.65bn was brought in.

The overall figure follows a posting of £1.26bn in IPT income in November, a month in which chancellor Rachel Reeves’ much-discussed budget made no changes to IPT.

The 2024/25 financial year saw a record £8.88bn raised in insurance taxes, a figure which is set to be narrowly beaten if current trends continue, with the office for budget responsibility (OBR) projecting an overall income of £8.97bn in the latest financial year.

The OBR has also predicted that IPT income will cross the £10bn per year mark in the 2030/31 financial year.

The high earnings have led to calls from some to remove IPT in certain sectors, most notably in the health insurance market, the aim of which being to broaden private health cover and thereby reduce pressure on the NHS.

Record year

Cara Spinks, head of life and health at insurance consultancy Broadstone, commented: “November’s figures confirm another strong month for IPT, taking the year-to-date total to over £6.7bn and keeping the UK on course for another record year.

“Health insurance products such as private medical insurance and health cash plans have been instrumental in supporting workforce participation and alleviating NHS pressures through early diagnosis and preventative care.

“Yet, with waiting lists still at record levels, IPT continues to act as a barrier to wider adoption for both employers and individuals.”

Spinks continued: “The Autumn Budget was a missed opportunity to respond to the [government’s] Keep Britain Working review by reducing or removing IPT on health insurance products.

“Doing so would have improved access to these services and supported the government’s stated aims of reducing NHS waiting lists, improving productivity and driving economic growth.”