UK: HMRC probes into serious tax fraud and avoidance fall to lowest level in six years

The number of HMRC investigations into serious tax fraud and avoidance has fallen to the lowest level in six years, new figures show.

Total investigations, known as Code of Practice eight and nine cases, fell from 1,091 in 2022-23 to 480 in 2023-24, according to the Financial Times.

Cop9 probes, which encompass the most serious tax cases such as the Hirst brothers and Bernie Ecclestone, fell from 669 in 2019-19 to 268 in 2023-24.

A number of tax experts told the FT staff retention and poor resourcing within HMRC was to blame for the drop off.

It was announced in Chancellor Rachel Reeves’ Autumn Budget that the tax authority would hire around 5,000 more compliance staff and recieve new technology. The government hopes the move will help HMRC raise an extra £6.5bn in unpaid taxes.

A HMRC spokesperson said it had “deliberately focused” its investigations in recent years towards the “highest-harm and highest-value fraud, which means the number of these enquiries will change from year-to-year based on changing risks.”

“The vast majority pay the tax that’s due and we use a range of civil and criminal powers to tackle those committing serious fraud.”

The spokesperson added: “Last year this compliance work protected £34bn of tax that would otherwise have been unpaid.”

Despite the falling number of serious tax fraud investigations, HMRC brought in a record £1.1bn in tax between 2023 and 2024, although in a statement to the FT, the department acknowledged this was in part due to the “particularly large” Ecclestone payment of £652.6m.