UK Debt Statistics 2026

Last updated: 17 October 2026 · Compiled by IVA Advice Online from official and published sources

This page brings together the latest figures on personal debt in the UK: how much people owe, how fast borrowing is growing, how many people enter formal insolvency each year, and how council tax arrears and bailiff use are changing. Every figure links to its original source and states the period it covers. We update the page when new figures are published.

How much debt is there in the UK?

People in the UK owed £1,984.3 billion at the end of July 2026, including mortgages. Of that, £257.5 billion was outstanding consumer credit — unsecured borrowing such as credit cards, personal loans, overdrafts and car finance.¹

Borrowers paid an estimated £249 million a day in interest in July 2026.¹

Average debt per household and per adult

Source: The Money Charity, The Money Statistics, September 2026, based on Bank of England data.¹ These are averages across all households or adults, including those with no debt.

Credit card and consumer borrowing in 2026

In August 2026, people borrowed a net £2.5 billion in consumer credit, up from £2.1 billion in July: £1.2 billion on credit cards and £1.3 billion through other forms such as personal loans and car finance.²

Source: Bank of England, Money and Credit – August 2026, published 29 September 2026.²

How many people are struggling with debt?

The Financial Conduct Authority's Financial Lives survey (fieldwork February to June 2024, published May 2025) found:³

• 4.5 million adults (8%) were in financial difficulty, meaning they had missed domestic bills or credit repayments in three or more of the previous six months.
• 7.3 million adults (13%) said keeping up with bills and credit commitments was a heavy burden.
• 13.1 million adults (24%) had low financial resilience.
• 10% of adults had no cash savings at all, and a further 21% had less than £1,000.

People seeking debt advice

StepChange Debt Charity helped 163,916 new clients in 2025. Among them:⁴

Source: StepChange Debt Charity, Statistics Yearbook 2025.⁴ These figures describe people who sought debt advice, not the whole population.

IVA, bankruptcy and DRO statistics

2025 totals (England and Wales)

Source: Insolvency Service, individual insolvency statistics, published 20 January 2026.⁵ There were also 89,130 Breathing Space registrations in 2025, a similar level to 2024.

Latest month: August 2026

• 11,644 people entered insolvency in England and Wales, 3% more than in August 2025.⁶
• 7,039 IVAs (up 8% on August 2025), 3,880 DROs (down 6%) and 725 bankruptcies (up 14%).⁶
• In the 12 months to August 2026, 1 in 360 adults (27.8 per 10,000) became insolvent, up from 1 in 408 a year earlier.⁶
• An average of 385 people a day were declared insolvent or bankrupt in England and Wales in the three months to August 2026.¹
• There were 5,012 Breathing Space registrations (4,871 standard and 141 mental health), 32% fewer than in August 2025.⁶

Scotland and Northern Ireland

Scotland and Northern Ireland have their own insolvency systems, so their figures are reported separately. In Scotland, 2,181 people became insolvent between April and June 2026 (13% more than a year earlier): 1,332 protected trust deeds and 849 bankruptcies. In Northern Ireland, 140 people became insolvent in August 2026: 117 IVAs, 16 DROs and 7 bankruptcies.⁶

Council tax arrears and bailiff statistics

Councils in England collected 95.6% of the council tax due for 2025-26, down 0.3 percentage points on the previous year: £43.0 billion collected of the £45.0 billion due.⁷

• Total council tax arrears in England reached £7.4 billion at 31 March 2026, up £782 million (11.8%) on a year earlier.⁷
• Councils wrote off £306 million of council tax in 2025-26.⁷
• Councils in England and Wales passed 1.72 million council tax cases to bailiffs (enforcement agents) in 2025/26, compared with 1.74 million in 2024/25.⁸
• 153 councils (48%) increased their use of bailiffs in 2025/26.⁸

If you're behind on council tax, see our guides on what to do if you can't pay council tax, stopping council tax bailiffs and your rights with bailiffs.

Using these statistics

Sources

1. The Money Charity, The Money Statistics, September 2026. Figures as at end of July 2026, based on Bank of England data; insolvency-per-day figure for the three months to August 2026.
2. Bank of England, Money and Credit – August 2026, published 29 September 2026.
3. Financial Conduct Authority, Financial Lives 2024: key findings, published 16 May 2025. Fieldwork 5 February to 16 June 2024.
4. StepChange Debt Charity, Statistics Yearbook 2025. Clients whose first advice session was January to December 2025.
5. Insolvency Service, Individual insolvency statistics: December 2025, published 20 January 2026.
6. Insolvency Service, Individual insolvency statistics: August 2026, published 18 September 2026.
7. Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government, Collection rates for council tax and non-domestic rates in England, 2025 to 2026, published 24 June 2026, revised 31 July 2026.
8. Money Advice Trust / National Debtline, "Almost half of councils increase bailiff use as council tax arrears hit £7.4bn", published 27 August 2026 (Freedom of Information research).

This page provides general information, not advice about your circumstances.