The number of teachers paying higher-rate tax has surged by 147% over the past five years as a result of frozen tax thresholds.
A Freedom of Information request by Quilter to the Department for Education found the number of state school teachers earning £50,000 or more has risen from 73,527 in 2019/20 to 181,897 in 2024/25, despite total teacher headcount in state schools rising by just 2.7% during the period.
In 2019/20, around 14.5% of teachers earned £50,000 or more. By 2024/25, this figure had climbed to 34.8%, meaning more than one in three teachers are now earning at or above the higher rate threshold.
The number of teachers earning above £125,000 has also risen from 330 in 2019/20 to 1,180 in 2024/25; an increase of 258% over the five-year period. Meanwhile, those earning £150,000 or more have increased by 117% from 90 t0 195.
The personal allowance and higher-rate threshold were first frozen in April 2021 and have since been extended until April 2028, meaning pay growth over much of this period has taken place against a backdrop of static tax bands.
Rachael Griffin, tax and financial planning expert at Quilter, said: “These figures neatly capture the cumulative effect of frozen tax thresholds and show how professions not typically associated with high earnings are now suffering higher rates of tax. Teacher numbers have risen by less than 3% over five years, yet the number earning at levels exposed to higher and additional rates of tax has increased at multiples of that.
“Many of these teachers will not feel like higher earners in real terms. Pay progression, inflationary pressures and additional responsibilities have pushed more of them into higher tax bands, but without a corresponding uplift in take-home reward once marginal rates are factored in.
“With several more years of frozen thresholds ahead, the proportion of public sector professionals paying higher rates of tax is likely to continue rising. In this environment, careful financial planning, particularly around pension contributions and use of allowances, becomes increasingly important to mitigate the impact of fiscal drag.”
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