HMRC Doubles the Threshold for Naming Tax Defaulters

Tax Queen

Tax Expert @ Pie

3 min read

Does This Affect You?

For most people, no. If you've filed late, made an honest mistake on your return or misread an expense rule, you won't end up on this list. It's reserved for people who knew what they were doing and did it anyway, at a serious scale.

Still, it's a useful reminder of where the line sits between a careless slip and a deliberate default. Knowing that line, and how to stay well on the right side of it, can save you a lot of money and stress.

What Is the Deliberate Tax Defaulters List?

HMRC regularly publishes the details of people and businesses that have been penalised for deliberate tax wrongdoing. The list includes enough information to identify them, usually a name, trade and address, along with the penalties charged and the amount of tax those penalties relate to.

The aim is deterrence. Most people pay what they owe, and HMRC wants the minority who don't to know there's a reputational cost as well as a financial one. The power to publish comes from Section 94 of the Finance Act 2009.

The Threshold Has Just Doubled

Until recently, HMRC could name anyone whose deliberate default penalties involved more than £25,000 of tax. A change to Section 94 has doubled that to £50,000, and on 2 October 2026 HMRC removed everyone below the new line from the published list.

The penalties themselves haven't changed. Someone who deliberately underpaid £30,000 still faces the same fine as before. The only difference is that their name no longer goes on a public government web page.

Who Gets Named

Three things now have to be true before HMRC can publish someone's details:

HMRC has carried out an investigation into their tax affairs
They've been charged one or more penalties for deliberate defaults (meaning they knowingly got something wrong, such as hiding income or inventing expenses)
Those penalties relate to more than £50,000 of tax

For a fuller picture of how HMRC's fines work, our guide to HMRC civil penalties breaks down every type.

When Names Appear and Disappear

HMRC only publishes details once a penalty is final. That happens on whichever applies: the day after the appeal window closes with no appeal, the date an appeal is finally decided, or the date a contract settlement is agreed (a formal deal with HMRC to settle what's owed).

By law, HMRC can't keep anyone's details published for more than 12 months from the date it first names them, and the lists aren't saved to The National Archives.

A Word of Caution on Addresses

HMRC is clear that people on the list may have changed their behaviour since, or moved. A business now trading from a published address could have no connection to the one named, even if it shares the same name. So don't assume the café down the road is guilty because its address appears.

Careless vs Deliberate: Why the Difference Matters

HMRC sorts errors into categories, and the maximum penalty depends on which one yours falls into:

Careless: you didn't take reasonable care. Up to 30% of the extra tax due
Deliberate: you knew it was wrong. Up to 70%
Deliberate and concealed: you knew it was wrong and tried to hide it. Up to 100%

Put that into numbers. Say someone deliberately hid income, avoided £60,000 in tax, then covered their tracks. They could owe the £60,000, up to another £60,000 in penalties, plus interest. And because it's over £50,000, their name could be published too.

It's not just wrong returns, either. Failing to tell HMRC you've started earning taxable income can be treated as deliberate too. Our guide on what failure to notify means explains when this applies.

How to Stay Off the List

Come Clean Early

This is the big one. HMRC won't publish your details if you earn the maximum penalty reduction by fully disclosing the problem and cooperating. Coming forward before HMRC has any reason to suspect anything (called an unprompted disclosure) cuts the penalty further. If worry is what's stopping you, our piece on how fear of penalties delays simple tax fixes is worth a read.

Keep Records That Stand Up

Most tax trouble starts with messy records, not bad intent. When your income and expenses are tracked properly throughout the year, there's far less room for mistakes. You can see how Pie Tax works to keep everything in one place and calculate your tax in real time.

Get Support Built In

A lot of errors come from guessing rather than checking. If you'd rather not go it alone, here's why Pie Tax makes self assessment simpler, with deadline reminders and help when you're unsure.

If You've Already Had a Penalty

A penalty for a careless mistake isn't the same as being labelled a deliberate defaulter, and you may be able to challenge it. Our guide on how to appeal a self assessment penalty walks you through it step by step.

Making Tax Digital Raises the Stakes

Making Tax Digital for Income Tax began on 6 April 2026 for sole traders and landlords with qualifying income over £50,000, with the threshold dropping to £30,000 from 6 April 2027. It means digital records and quarterly updates to HMRC, so gaps and inconsistencies show up much faster than they used to.

That's good news if you're organised, and a problem if you're not. Using proper self assessment software makes the switch far less painful, and you can check Pie Tax pricing to see what's included for free.

What This Means for Honest Taxpayers

The deliberate tax defaulters list is for people who knowingly dodged large amounts of tax, and the bar for being named is now higher than ever. Honest taxpayers don't need to lose sleep over it. But HMRC takes deliberate wrongdoing seriously, and fixing problems early is always cheaper than waiting to be found out.

Keep your records tidy, file on time and ask when you're unsure. Sign up today for free or download the Pie Tax app to stay on top of your tax all year round.

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