HMRC claws back record £50bn: Five ways to stay out of the tax office’s crosshairs

Taxpayers are being urged to get their affairs in order as HMRC ramps up its tax crackdown – hiring thousands more investigators and increasingly using AI to spot potential errors and unpaid tax.

HMRC has revealed it generated more than £50bn from tax compliance activity in 2025/26 for the first time – money HMRC says would otherwise have been lost.

And the tax office is stepping up its efforts.

The government is investing in HMRC with the aim of increasing annual compliance yield by another £10bn by 2030, including recruiting and training 5,500 additional compliance caseworkers, alongside more lawyers, analysts and policy experts.

More than 2,400 additional compliance staff have already joined HMRC since Autumn Budget 2024, while the tax office is also increasingly using AI and advanced data analytics to help identify errors, potential non-compliance and unpaid tax.

HMRC’s latest figures put the UK tax gap – the difference between the tax owed and the amount actually collected – at £59.2bn in 2024/25.

Tax insurance specialist Qdos is therefore urging taxpayers, particularly the self-employed, contractors, landlords and people earning money from multiple sources, to make sure their tax affairs can withstand scrutiny.

Seb Maley, Qdos CEO, said: “The fact of the matter is, HMRC has more data, information and resources at its fingertips than ever. Inaccurate or late tax returns, unexplained discrepancies between income and tax paid, and failing to declare all sources of income can raise a red flag at HMRC – potentially leading to a long, stressful and costly investigation.

“HMRC generating more than £50bn through compliance activity should serve as a reminder that the tax office is becoming increasingly effective at identifying where something doesn’t add up.

“The vast majority of people aren’t deliberately trying to avoid tax, but mistakes can still prove costly. While you can never rule out HMRC carrying out compliance activity, the best defence is relatively simple: know your obligations, keep accurate records and address any problems before HMRC comes knocking.”