Amazon's annual UK tax bill rises to more than £1.3bn as it faces higher labour and business costs
Amazon has said it paid more than £1.3bn in UK taxes last year, as higher labour and business costs helped push up the total bill by at least a fifth.
The online marketplace is one of the UK’s biggest employers, despite making a series of layoffs globally in recent months. The company said its taxes for 2025 increased by at least 20 per cent from more than £1bn in 2024. The direct taxes the company must pay include corporation tax, business rates, employer national insurance and digital services tax.
It is understood that a national insurance rate hike, which came into effect in April last year, helped increase the firm’s total bill, while it also paid more in corporation tax and business rates last year. The company did not pay any corporation tax in 2021 and 2022 because of the “super-deduction” tax break introduced by former Conservative chancellor Rishi Sunak, which was later reformed.
Amazon does not disclose how much it paid in each tax. Furthermore, the total amount of tax collected, such as VAT, which customers pay on products they buy, or the national insurance contributions of its staff, came to about £5bn, from £4.7bn the previous year. The online giant employs about 75,000 people in the UK in roles such warehouse workers, delivery drivers, and corporate and technology positions, making it one of the ten biggest private employers. Meanwhile, the new figures show it generated revenues of more than £30bn from UK activities last year, from about £29bn in 2024.