10 February 2026
New Freedom of Information data obtained by Quilter, the financial adviser and wealth manager, from the Department for Education shows how frozen income tax thresholds have reshaped the pay landscape for state school teachers, with a sharp rise in the number now paying higher and additional rates of tax.
The figures compare academic years 2019/20 and 2024/25, a five-year period that closely tracks the introduction and extension of income tax threshold freezes. Total teacher headcount in state-funded schools in England rose by just 2.7%, from 508,433 to 522,348 during the period.
However, the number earning £50,000 or more has surged by 147%, rising from 73,527 in 2019/20 to 181,897 in 2024/25.
In 2019/20, around 14.5% of teachers earned £50,000 or more. By 2024/25, this had climbed to 34.8%, meaning more than one in three teachers are now earning at or above the higher rate threshold.
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 occurred against static tax bands.
Growth at the top end is even more pronounced. The number of teachers earning above £125,000 has risen from 330 to 1,180, an increase of 258% over the five-year period. Meanwhile, those earning £150,000 or more have increased by 117%, from 90 to 195.
The data is based on headcount and gross pay including additional allowances such as teaching and learning responsibility payments and Special Educational Needs (SEN) allowances.
Headcount number of teachers in state-funded schools in England by gross pay including additional allowances, academic years 2019/20 and 2024/25
|
|
2019/20 |
2024/25 |
|
Total teachers |
508,433 |
522,348 |
|
Teachers earning £50,000 and over |
73,527 |
181,897 |
|
Teachers earning £125,000 and over (additional rate threshold in 2019-20) |
330 |
1,180 |
|
Teachers earning £150,000 and over (additional rate threshold in 2024-25) |
90 |
195 |
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.”
