Top earners see an increase in HMRC investigations

HMRC is intensifying its crackdown on wealthy taxpayers, backed by major government funding, with investigations rising sharply. HMRC’s wealthy team launched 13,055 investigations into high earners in the last tax year, a 60% increase compared to 8,110 the year before. Focus is on individuals earning over £200,000 or with assets above £2m. Around 850,000 people (2% of the UK population) fall into this category.

The Chancellor has allocated £1.4bn to HMRC, funding 5,000 new compliance staff over five years. An additional 400 staff will be hired by 2029-30 to tackle offshore tax non-compliance. They use information from 100+ overseas jurisdictions to identify property, investments, or accounts where tax may be due.

Currently, 17,700 investigations are ongoing, with 2,600 lasting 2-5 years and nearly 500 exceeding 15 years. Whilst the process can be lengthy and complex, HMRC feels it is worth it as it recovered £3.7bn from tackling tax non-compliance and evasion among the wealthy in 2024-25 alone.