HMRC Deliberate Tax Defaulters Threshold Rises to £50,000

If you have ever wondered when HMRC can put a person or firm’s name on a public list, this is the rule change to watch. The Treasury has made an order that doubles the publication threshold for deliberate tax defaulters from £25,000 to £50,000, and it comes into force on 2 October 2026. HMRC’s own July policy paper said the higher figure would start to matter from the November 2026 publication. (gov.uk) **What changed, in one line:** section 94(1)(b) of the Finance Act 2009 now works with £50,000 instead of £25,000. That sounds technical, but it changes who can be publicly named under HMRC’s rules for publishing details of deliberate defaulters. (gov.uk)

Before we go further, it helps to clear up a common misconception. This is not a rule about ordinary mistakes. HMRC’s guidance says publication applies to people or businesses penalised for deliberate non-compliance, such as deliberate inaccuracies, deliberate failure to meet certain obligations, or VAT and excise wrongdoing. Careless errors are outside this naming rule. (gov.uk) It is also not automatic the moment HMRC spots a problem. HMRC says officers work through five publication questions, the relevant penalties must be final, and the case is then referred to a specialist team before any decision to publish is taken. (gov.uk)

What can HMRC actually publish? Government guidance says the list can include a person’s name, address or registered office, the nature of the business, the penalty amount, the qualifying potential lost revenue and the period of the default. HMRC also says it can publish only the minimum information needed to identify the defaulter clearly. (gov.uk) There are time limits too. HMRC’s manual says details can only first be published within 12 months of the relevant penalties becoming final, and then kept on GOV.UK for a maximum of 12 months. HMRC says it usually reviews the list quarterly so old entries can come off and new ones can be added. (gov.uk)

One phrase matters here: ‘potential lost revenue’, often shortened to PLR. HMRC’s penalty guidance uses that term for the amount of tax at stake under the penalty rules, broadly the additional tax due or revenue HMRC says was put at risk, and the exact calculation can vary depending on the type of obligation involved. (gov.uk) **What this means in practice:** if a deliberate default produces a qualifying PLR above £50,000, the case can still cross the naming threshold if the other legal tests are met. If the PLR is £50,000 or below, the person or business may still face tax assessments and penalties, but this specific public naming rule will not be triggered by threshold alone. That second point is an inference from the new wording and HMRC’s existing publication test. (gov.uk)

HMRC’s July 2026 policy paper gives three reasons for the rise. It says the old £25,000 figure is being updated to broadly reflect inflation since it was introduced, to keep the regime proportionate as HMRC plans to publish more detail about deliberate non-compliance, and to focus publication on more serious cases. (gov.uk) The same paper says around 800 individuals and businesses a year are likely to be affected where the publication criteria are met. It also says the measure is not expected to change tax receipts, have significant macroeconomic effects or add extra administrative costs for business. (gov.uk)

It is worth noticing what this order does not do. It does not reduce any tax that is owed, erase penalties, or change the basic test of deliberate behaviour. It also does not cover criminal convictions, because HMRC’s published list relates to civil cases; criminal cases are dealt with separately and may already be public through court proceedings and press releases. (gov.uk) And this order is only one part of a wider reform plan. HMRC’s policy paper says separate Finance Bill 2026-27 changes are meant to let HMRC publish more detail about the deliberate non-compliance itself and about certain personal liability notices. So, if you are tracking the policy, the threshold rise is the narrow change happening here, while the broader disclosure plans sit elsewhere. (gov.uk)

For readers trying to make sense of how government works, this is a strong example of how a short statutory instrument can still change the real-world effect of a law. One substituted figure - £25,000 becoming £50,000 - changes which deliberate defaulters can be publicly named, even though the rest of the system stays in place. (gov.uk) **What it means for you:** if you are studying public policy, notice the balance here between transparency and proportionality. If you are a taxpayer or small business owner, notice the practical safeguard in HMRC’s guidance: early and full disclosure can reduce penalties and the risk of publication. HMRC also says there is no separate right of appeal against the publication decision itself, although people can appeal the underlying tax and penalty decisions that feed into it. (gov.uk)