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The number of workers paying 60pc tax on their income has doubled in five years to 763,000, according to official figures.
Between 2020-21 and 2025-26, the number of taxpayers caught in the £100k-£125k salary tax trap has soared from 376,000 to an estimated 763,000, according to HMRC data obtained in a freedom of information request.
Since 2024-25, an extra 78,000 workers have been dragged into the bracket because of frozen thresholds.
Taxpayers earning between £100,000 and £125,140 face one of the highest effective income tax rates in the UK because of a quirk of the system.
This is because they lose their £12,570 tax-free personal allowance at a rate of £1 for every £2 they earn over the £100,000 threshold.
As a result, a higher portion of their income is exposed to tax and they lose £60 out of every £100 earned in this bracket. When their income reaches £125,140, the personal allowance is reduced to £0 and they enter the 45pc tax band.
Nimesh Shah, of accountancy firm Blick Rothernberg, said the figures demonstrated “fiscal drag at its worst”.
He added: “If the £100,000 threshold had increased in line with inflation, it should be around £155,000.
“Hundreds of thousands of taxpayers have been pushed into 60pc tax through fiscal drag rather than real increases in prosperity.”
