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Policy & Impact Reports and resources Full Fact Report 2026 Full Fact AI How we fact check After we fact check Full Fact in the press About About Full Fact is the UK's independent fact checking charity. We put reliable evidence at the heart of public debate so you can make sense of what matters. Who we are Our team Careers Funding Independence Impartiality Feedback & corrections International networks FAQs Contact us Search Fact check Leo Benedictus Journalist Published 14 May 2026 Updated 15 May 2026 Reading time 3 mins Topic Economy, Business & Finance Tags Welfare Share Articles / Economy, Business & Finance / Fact check 14 May 2026 Fact check Welfare payments have not exceeded income tax ‘for the first time ever’ By Leo Benedictus • Economy, Business & Finance • 3 mins What was claimed For the first time ever, the total welfare bill is now higher than total receipts from income tax. Our verdict Incorrect. Welfare spending, which includes state pensions, has been higher than income tax in every year since at least 2013/14. An “Alternative King’s Speech” published by the Conservatives on Monday (11 May) claimed: “For the first time ever, the total welfare bill is now higher than total receipts from income tax.” This is a claim we’ve heard a few times in recent weeks from politicians and in the media. But it’s not true. Total welfare spending was higher than income tax receipts in 2025/26, according to figures from the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR), but this is far from the first time that’s happened. Join 75,000 newsletter subscribers who trust us to check the facts Sign up to get weekly updates on politics, immigration, health and more. leave this field blank to prove your humanity Your email address What should we call you? Sign up Subscribe to weekly email newsletters from Full Fact for updates on politics, immigration, health and more. Our fact checks are free to read but not to produce, so you will also get occasional emails about fundraising and other ways you can help. You can unsubscribe at any time. For more information about how we use your data see our Privacy Policy. According to Full Fact’s research with historic OBR documents, welfare spending—which includes state pensions as well as universal credit and other benefits—has been higher than income tax receipts every year for at least the last 13 years. Indeed the gap narrowed significantly in 2025/26, and the positions are set to reverse in 2026/27—meaning 2025/26 is expected to be the last for the foreseeable future that welfare is higher than income tax in the UK, not the first. We shared our figures with the Institute for Fiscal Studies, which looked at the question independently and agreed with us. “It looks like welfare spending has been higher than income tax receipts for all of the last 13 years,” Tom Waters, an associate director and head of the income, work and welfare sector, told us. “In fact what's changing is that welfare spending is forecast to be lower than income tax receipts in 2026/27 for the first time since at least 2013/14, and then remain that way until the end of the forecast period in 2030/31.” We’re not sure where this claim came from. The Telegraph published an article comparing income tax and welfare spending on 4 April, but it did not claim welfare was higher for the first time. This element appeared in a video featuring the LBC presenter Iain Dale two days later. His post on X was then shared by a number of Conservative politicians, including the shadow work and pensions secretary Helen Whately, and the Conservative MP Rebecca Smith. The Conservative MP Dr Luke Evans made the same claim in an article on his website on 8 April, as did the party leader, Kemi Badenoch, at Prime Minister’s Questions on 29 April. Separately, we saw the same claim made by the Reform MP Robert Jenrick on Facebook. And a similar claim appeared in a City AM article, which was corrected after we got in touch. It’s important to remember that many working people receive benefits, and many people who are not working, including pensioners, pay income tax. Working people pay National Insurance too. So the welfare and income tax figures do not simply show how much the government spends on people who are out of work, or receives from people who are working. We’ve asked the Conservatives, Mr Jenrick and LBC about this claim, but none has responded at the time of publication. Correction 15 May 2026 Corrected a misspelling of Helen Whately's name. Tags Welfare Was this helpful? Full Fact fights for good, reliable information in the media, online, and in politics. Support Full Fact today Related How much is being spent on benefits? Starbucks never pledged to hire 10,000 Muslims Viral energy price figures don’t show annual consumer energy bills across Europe Video of woman explaining why she still uses cash is an AI fake Have the Conservatives forgotten their promise to correct the record? Related How much is being spent on benefits? Starbucks never pledged to hire 10,000 Muslims Viral energy price figures don’t show annual consumer energy bills across Europe Video of woman explaining why she still uses cash is an AI fake Have the Conservatives forgotten their promise to correct the record? 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