Companies and individuals that are careless or even illegal in their tax affairs need to watch out. New figures show that HMRC has paid out £1.4 million in rewards to whistleblowers of tax illegality.

A record number of reports were made to HMRC in the 2025-26 tax year, hitting 170,992.

The last Budget saw the government strengthen a reward scheme for tip-offs. Payouts only go to tips that lead HMRC to recover more than £1.5 million in tax. Informants now receive between 15% and 30% of the value of the extra tax collected.

Recent HMRC figures on the tax gap – the difference between the tax owed and the amount actually collected – showed that small businesses made up the largest share of uncollected tax, two-thirds of the £59.2 billion shortfall.

HMRC have also just released a two-minute YouTube video as a ‘general explainer’ on the scheme. It is aimed at employees, family members, friends or acquaintances of high-net-worth individuals or businesses engaged in suspected serious tax evasion or avoidance. It sets out what the scheme is, what rewards eligible informants could receive and how any information provided may help HMRC to tackle the tax gap and fund vital public services.

The video can be found here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wsmzQR-Uhqc

Should you be unsure of your tax position and need advice, please get in contact. We’re here to help.

The latest figures from HMRC reveal that the Treasury had a substantial £59.2 billion shortfall from unpaid taxes for the tax year 2024-2025. The ‘Measuring tax gaps 2026 edition’ found that the tax gap, which measures the difference between the amount of tax expected to be paid and what was actually collected, stood at an estimated 6.4%, up from 5.3% for 2023-24.

HMRC collected £865.2 billion over the 2024 to 2025 tax year, representing 93.6 per cent of all tax due, but non-compliance by small businesses alone constituted 62% of the gap. This was primarily due to unpaid Corporation Tax, as the tax gap rose to 18.1%.

HMRC noted that the tax gap for Corporation Tax had been broadly stable until COVID. In 2019-2020, it rose to 15.6%, but this was partly due to improvements in data collection.

Summary of figures

  • The tax gap for VAT was 6.6% in 2024-2025.
  • The tax gap for Income Tax, National Insurance contributions and Capital Gains Tax stood at 4% in 2024-2025, well below the 5.3% in 2013-2014.
  • The tax gap for excise duty reduced was 5.5% in 2024-2025.
  • The largest components of the tax gap by tax type in 2024-2025 are for Corporation Tax, Income Tax, National Insurance Contributions and Capital Gains Tax.
  • The tax gap from individuals was the lowest proportion of the tax gap at 4% in 2024-2025.

Failure to take reasonable care, error and evasion are among the main behavioural reasons for the overall tax gap. Tax evasion accounted for 12% of last year’s tax gap, HMRC said.

To see the full details of HMRC’s report, go here https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/measuring-tax-gaps

If you need help with your tax calculations and returns, please contact us. We’d be happy to help!

HMRC’s ‘Don’t get caught out‘ campaign encourages contractors working through umbrella companies to take a closer look at their circumstances and watch out for tax avoidance.

Contractors can use HMRC’s online guidance and tools to learn about tax avoidance, to understand how they are paid and how to check if the right amount of tax is being paid to avoid an unexpected tax bill later.

There are real-life stories of people caught out by tax avoidance in a short explainer YouTube video on how umbrella companies work.

Contractors can also review HMRC’s list of published named tax avoidance schemes and their promoters here at the Rossmartin tax site. This is not an exhaustive list, as some operators are yet to be identified by HMRC.

HMRC never approve such schemes, even if promoters say otherwise or promote them by saying they have been found compliant by barristers.

If you have concerns that you may have been caught out, please give us a call. We would be happy to help you!

HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) have reported that 298,905 people filed their Self Assessment tax return in the first week of the tax year, with a record total of 737,891 returns being filed during the month of April 2026.

HMRC are highlighting several benefits to filing early, including:

  • Getting a refund sooner if you are due one.

 

  • Reducing stress by avoiding the pressure that comes from filing at the last minute.

 

  • There is no need to pay tax early but knowing how much you owe ahead of time helps with budgeting.

 

  • Any mistakes can be checked and corrected before the deadline.

 

  • A processed tax return can be used as proof of income for mortgage and loan applications or benefit claims.

More than 12 million tax returns are due to be filed by 31 January 2027, so there are still plenty of returns to be filed yet.

If you would like help in preparing and filing your 2025/26 tax return, please do get in touch. We would be happy to help you!

See: https://www.gov.uk/government/news/298905-self-assessment-filers-quick-off-the-mark

HM Revenue & Customs has started using GOV.UK One Login for taxpayers signing up to its digital services for the first time.

This means that if you do not already have a Government Gateway account, you will now register using an email-and-password login rather than needing to obtain a 10-12 digit Government Gateway ID.

For now, this only affects new HMRC users. Existing Government Gateway users do not need to switch yet.

Even if you already have a GOV.UK One Login that you use for another government service, you will still need to use your government gateway to access HMRC’s services for the time being.

HMRC plans to roll out GOV.UK One Logins gradually and will contact existing users when it is ready for them to move over.

Eventually, GOV.UK One Logins will become the single login for everything from filing a tax return to renewing a passport.

If you need help registering for or accessing HMRC services, please contact us. We will be happy to help you! See: https://www.gov.uk/government/news/hmrc-introducesgovukonelogin-for-new-customers