HMRC secured 260 convictions against most serious tax evaders

HMRC’s elite Fraud Investigation Service (FIS) secured 260 convictions against the most serious tax evaders in the tax year 2025-26, according to HMRC annual report published on 9 July 2026, says UHY Hacker Young, the national accountancy group.

HMRC brought 300 prosecutions against tax evaders in total, and 1,100 individuals are currently awaiting trial. HMRC says it won 87% of the prosecutions it brought in last year.

494 criminal investigations were launched, up 10.8% from 446 the previous year. The amount of tax collected through criminal investigations rose by 39% to £2.1 billion, up from £1.52 billion.

The average investigation recovered almost a million pounds more – £4.3m each, a 25.5% more than £3.4m the previous year.

Ian Dickinson, Tax Director at UHY Hacker Young, says: “HMRC appears increasingly willing to prosecute individuals who evade tax.”

“HMRC is looking to close a multi-billion fiscal gap, so it is likely to use all the legal tools it has to recover unpaid tax.” 

“HMRC appears to be getting more bang for its buck. On average, it is getting almost a million extra pound per investigation.”

HMRC collected £50.2 billion in extra tax through compliance in tax year 2025-26.