Tax receipt on £50,000 a year, 2026-27

What it pays for, split like spending in 2025-26

Social protection

£3,125.63SourcedSocial protection was £407bn of the £1,366bn the state spent in 2025-26, 29.8%, so 29.8% of your tax goes on this line.HM Treasury Public Expenditure Statistical Analyses (PESA) / Public Spending Statistics, edition PESA-2026GOV.UK, Income Tax rates and Personal Allowances, edition income-tax-rates@2026-10-01HMRC, Rates and thresholds for employers 2026 to 2027, edition rates-and-thresholds-for-employers-2026-to-2027@2026-09-30

Health

£1,976.53SourcedHealth was £258bn of the £1,366bn the state spent in 2025-26, 18.9%, so 18.9% of your tax goes on this line.HM Treasury Public Expenditure Statistical Analyses (PESA) / Public Spending Statistics, edition PESA-2026GOV.UK, Income Tax rates and Personal Allowances, edition income-tax-rates@2026-10-01HMRC, Rates and thresholds for employers 2026 to 2027, edition rates-and-thresholds-for-employers-2026-to-2027@2026-09-30

Education

£964.86SourcedEducation was £126bn of the £1,366bn the state spent in 2025-26, 9.2%, so 9.2% of your tax goes on this line.HM Treasury Public Expenditure Statistical Analyses (PESA) / Public Spending Statistics, edition PESA-2026GOV.UK, Income Tax rates and Personal Allowances, edition income-tax-rates@2026-10-01HMRC, Rates and thresholds for employers 2026 to 2027, edition rates-and-thresholds-for-employers-2026-to-2027@2026-09-30

Debt interest

£833.70EstimateDebt interest was £109bn of the £1,366bn the state spent in 2025-26, 8.0%, so 8.0% of your tax goes on this line. Central government debt interest net of the APF (OBR definition): ONS CG interest payable (NMFX, 96.8bn) minus APF net interest receivable (MDD8, -11.8bn), summed April 2025 to March 2026.ONS Public sector finances, UK (PUSF time series dataset), edition PSF-2026-09GOV.UK, Income Tax rates and Personal Allowances, edition income-tax-rates@2026-10-01HMRC, Rates and thresholds for employers 2026 to 2027, edition rates-and-thresholds-for-employers-2026-to-2027@2026-09-30

Transport & economy

£721.10SourcedTransport & economy was £94bn of the £1,366bn the state spent in 2025-26, 6.9%, so 6.9% of your tax goes on this line.HM Treasury Public Expenditure Statistical Analyses (PESA) / Public Spending Statistics, edition PESA-2026GOV.UK, Income Tax rates and Personal Allowances, edition income-tax-rates@2026-10-01HMRC, Rates and thresholds for employers 2026 to 2027, edition rates-and-thresholds-for-employers-2026-to-2027@2026-09-30

Defence

£502.06SourcedDefence was £65.4bn of the £1,366bn the state spent in 2025-26, 4.8%, so 4.8% of your tax goes on this line.HM Treasury Public Expenditure Statistical Analyses (PESA) / Public Spending Statistics, edition PESA-2026GOV.UK, Income Tax rates and Personal Allowances, edition income-tax-rates@2026-10-01HMRC, Rates and thresholds for employers 2026 to 2027, edition rates-and-thresholds-for-employers-2026-to-2027@2026-09-30

Police, courts, prisons

£427.63SourcedPolice, courts, prisons was £55.7bn of the £1,366bn the state spent in 2025-26, 4.1%, so 4.1% of your tax goes on this line.HM Treasury Public Expenditure Statistical Analyses (PESA) / Public Spending Statistics, edition PESA-2026GOV.UK, Income Tax rates and Personal Allowances, edition income-tax-rates@2026-10-01HMRC, Rates and thresholds for employers 2026 to 2027, edition rates-and-thresholds-for-employers-2026-to-2027@2026-09-30

Housing & environment

£319.47SourcedHousing & environment was £41.6bn of the £1,366bn the state spent in 2025-26, 3.0%, so 3.0% of your tax goes on this line. COFOG housing and community amenities plus environment protection (PESA-2026).HM Treasury Public Expenditure Statistical Analyses (PESA) / Public Spending Statistics, edition PESA-2026GOV.UK, Income Tax rates and Personal Allowances, edition income-tax-rates@2026-10-01HMRC, Rates and thresholds for employers 2026 to 2027, edition rates-and-thresholds-for-employers-2026-to-2027@2026-09-30

Running government

£268.86SourcedRunning government was £35bn of the £1,366bn the state spent in 2025-26, 2.6%, so 2.6% of your tax goes on this line. COFOG general public services, excluding debt interest (PESA-2026).HM Treasury Public Expenditure Statistical Analyses (PESA) / Public Spending Statistics, edition PESA-2026GOV.UK, Income Tax rates and Personal Allowances, edition income-tax-rates@2026-10-01HMRC, Rates and thresholds for employers 2026 to 2027, edition rates-and-thresholds-for-employers-2026-to-2027@2026-09-30

Culture & sport

£115.52SourcedCulture & sport was £15.1bn of the £1,366bn the state spent in 2025-26, 1.1%, so 1.1% of your tax goes on this line.HM Treasury Public Expenditure Statistical Analyses (PESA) / Public Spending Statistics, edition PESA-2026GOV.UK, Income Tax rates and Personal Allowances, edition income-tax-rates@2026-10-01HMRC, Rates and thresholds for employers 2026 to 2027, edition rates-and-thresholds-for-employers-2026-to-2027@2026-09-30

Accounting adjustments

£1,225.04EstimateAccounting adjustments was £160bn of the £1,366bn the state spent in 2025-26, 11.7%, so 11.7% of your tax goes on this line. Reconciles spending by function (HMT PESA) with total spending. Made up of: HMT PESA accounting adjustments 132.5bn; 21.7bn that PESA counts as debt interest but the OBR measure used for the debt interest line does not (mostly 19.4bn of notional interest on unfunded public-service pensions); 5.5bn difference between total spending here (PSF-2026-09) and PESA's outturn.ONS Public sector finances, UK (PUSF time series dataset), edition PSF-2026-09GOV.UK, Income Tax rates and Personal Allowances, edition income-tax-rates@2026-10-01HMRC, Rates and thresholds for employers 2026 to 2027, edition rates-and-thresholds-for-employers-2026-to-2027@2026-09-30