HMRC receives record high £157bn from VAT HMRC collected a record £157.2bn from VAT bills in 2021/22, a 55% increase on the £101bn collected the year before. The rise comes after the hospitality sector saw VAT increase from the 5% rate it was temporarily reduced to during the pandemic, to 20%, and companies which took advantage of the VAT holiday introduced between March and June 2020 were forced to make up for payments they deferred during the Covid crisis.