- Amazon said it paid more than £1.3 billion in direct UK taxes in 2025.
- The company’s UK tax bill increased by at least 20 per cent compared with the previous year.
- Amazon generated more than £30 billion in UK revenues while continuing major investment plans across the country.
Amazon says it paid more than £1.3 billion in direct taxes in the UK last year, as rising labour costs, higher business rates and increased national insurance contributions pushed up the company’s overall bill.
The online retail giant said its direct UK tax payments for 2025 increased by at least 20 per cent from more than £1 billion in 2024.
Those payments include corporation tax, employer national insurance contributions, business rates and the UK’s digital services tax.
The increase comes after changes to national insurance rates introduced in April 2025 added further pressure to employment costs for major businesses operating across Britain.
Amazon, which employs around 75,000 people in the UK, is one of the country’s largest private-sector employers, with staff spread across warehouses, delivery operations, technology teams and corporate offices.
The company does not break down exactly how much it paid under each individual tax category.
Rising costs meet rising revenues
Alongside direct taxes, Amazon said the wider amount of tax collected through its UK operations — including VAT paid by customers and national insurance contributions from employees — reached around £5 billion in 2025, up from £4.7 billion the previous year.
The figures also showed Amazon generated more than £30 billion in UK revenues during the year, compared with around £29 billion in 2024.
The company did not pay corporation tax in 2021 and 2022 after benefiting from the UK government’s temporary “super-deduction” tax relief introduced under former chancellor Rishi Sunak. That scheme was later reformed.
Amazon’s latest tax figures arrive during continued scrutiny of how large multinational technology companies are taxed in Britain and other major economies.
At the same time, the company is continuing a major UK investment drive.
Amazon has pledged to invest around £40 billion in Britain between 2025 and 2027, with more than £15 billion reportedly already spent on new warehouse developments, logistics infrastructure and office expansion projects, including sites in London.
Expansion continues despite global layoffs
The investment push comes despite wider cost-cutting measures across Amazon’s global operations.
Earlier in 2026, the company announced plans for around 16,000 job cuts worldwide as part of efforts to reduce management layers and streamline operations. Most of those cuts were concentrated in the US rather than Britain.
Even so, Amazon continues expanding its technology and logistics footprint in the UK.
The company recently launched drone deliveries from its fulfilment centre in Darlington, marking the first UK trial of its Prime Air delivery service.
The latest figures underline the balancing act facing large technology companies operating in Britain: growing revenues and long-term expansion plans on one side, while rising labour costs, tax pressures and restructuring efforts continue on the other.
