Overview

• HMRC's compliance yield from wealthy individuals more than doubled from £2.2 billion in 2019-20 to £5.2 billion in 2023-24, surpassing previous tax gap estimates.
• The National Audit Office suggests non-compliance among wealthy taxpayers may be higher than previously thought, with a £1 billion discrepancy between compliance yield and HMRC’s tax gap estimate.
• In 2023-24, wealthy individuals—defined as earning over £200,000 annually or holding assets above £2 million—paid £119 billion in personal taxes, contributing 25% of total personal tax receipts.
• Despite increased revenue collection, penalties issued to wealthy taxpayers dropped over 75% since 2018-19, raising questions about enforcement effectiveness.
• The government has committed funding for 5,500 additional compliance staff and aims to close the tax gap by £7.5 billion annually by 2029-30.