Britain’s wealthiest are being warned to brace for a wave of tax probes as HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) steps up its campaign to recover billions from high earners.
In a dramatic escalation, the tax authority has doubled the amount it recovered from investigations into people with incomes over £200,000 or assets above £2million – collecting more than £1.5 billion last year alone.
And in a move likely to send shudders through private banking circles and luxury estates, HMRC has revealed it is recruiting 400 new specialist compliance officers to intensify scrutiny over the financial affairs of the richest households.
The taxman’s aggressive approach has already seen the total haul from high earners jump to £5.2 billion in the most recent year, up from £4 billion, according to a Freedom of Information request by accountancy firm Pinsent Masons.
According to official figures, the UK’s wealthiest are believed to be avoiding £2.1 billion in tax every year – and ministers now appear determined to claw it back.
Ian Robotham, of Pinsent Masons, said: “HMRC has been set some very hard targets for extra tax collection by the chancellor. It is hard to see how they can achieve those targets without a sharp rise in tax investigations into the wealthy.”
The new officers will be deployed by HMRC’s ‘wealthy and mid-sized business compliance directorate’ – a unit dedicated to the affairs of the super-rich. Ministers hope the recruitment drive will bring in a further £500 million by the end of the decade.
Tax specialists say that while investigations may begin with a polite letter, they can quickly escalate into full-blown audits of bank accounts, property portfolios, offshore holdings and inheritance arrangements.
Those in the firing line may be forced to hand over statements from personal and business accounts, legal documents relating to trusts, ownership records for homes in the UK and abroad, and attend face-to-face interviews with compliance staff.
The agency is relying heavily on high-tech methods, including artificial intelligence and its ‘Connect’ system – a powerful data tool that cross-references tax filings with information from banks, land registries, social media, and even flight records.
At the same time, global tax transparency has surged, with HMRC now automatically alerted when UK citizens move money to foreign accounts under agreements like the OECD’s Common Reporting Standard.
The result is a rise in tax disputes – some of which end up in court or lead to criminal charges.
In one high-profile case, former Formula One boss Bernie Ecclestone was prosecuted for fraud in 2022 after failing to declare more than £400 million held in an offshore trust in Singapore.
He later pleaded guilty, admitting he lied to investigators, and paid a staggering £652.6 million as part of a civil settlement to cover tax, interest and penalties. The 93-year-old avoided jail after being handed a 17-month sentence, suspended due to age and health.
In its statement, HMRC defended the crackdown: “It’s our duty to ensure everyone pays the right tax under the law, regardless of wealth or status. The government is delivering the most ambitious ever package to close the tax gap and bring in an extra £7.5 billion for public services per year by 2029 to 2030.”
