Revenue stamps of the United Kingdom refer to the various revenue or fiscal stamps, whether adhesive, directly embossed or otherwise, which were issued by and used in the Kingdom of England, the Kingdom of Great Britain, the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, from the late 17th century to the present day.
The first impressed duty stamps were issued by the Kingdom of England in accordance with the Stamps Act 1694. Impressed duty stamps were used to pay a multitude of taxes in the centuries since then, and they are still in use as of 2010[update].
The first adhesive revenue stamps were chocolate duty stamps issued in the 1740s, but no examples of these have survived today. The oldest known adhesive stamps of which examples still exist were issued in the 1780s for duties on hats, gloves and perfume. British revenue stamps therefore predate the first postage stamp, the Penny Black, which was issued in 1840. Surface printed revenues which had designs similar to postage stamps were first issued in 1853, and in 1855 embossed adhesive stamps began to be issued.
A wide range of revenue stamps were used throughout the second half of the 19th century and the first half of the 20th century. These included standard key type designs bearing the portrait of the reigning monarch, embossed adhesives, impressed duty stamps and various other designs for specific uses. In most cases, stamps were affixed to documents but for some cases such as Medicine Duty, the stamp was affixed to the product being taxed.
The amount of revenue stamps in use decreased considerably during the 1960s, but key types and stamps for television licences continued to be issued until the late 1990s. The only revenue stamps still in use are impressed duty stamps, as well as taxpaid labels or imprints for alcohol excise. In addition to national issues, some of the constituent countries of the UK (Ireland, Northern Ireland, Scotland and Southern Ireland) issued their own revenue stamps due to peculiarities within the legal system. Some counties and local authorities also issued stamps during the 19th and 20th centuries. The extensive use of revenue stamps in the United Kingdom influenced the use of such stamps in its colonies.
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