Overview
- HM Revenue & Customs published provisional figures on Tuesday showing the UK tax gap for 2024–25 at 6.4%, equal to £59.2 billion, with HMRC collecting £865.2 billion or 93.6% of tax due.
- HMRC says small-business non‑compliance makes up about 62% of the gap and that corporation tax accounts for roughly 35% of the total, with the corporation tax gap rising to 18.1% by percentage value.
- HMRC attributes unpaid tax mainly to behavioural causes, with failure to take reasonable care responsible for 35% of the gap, error 16% and evasion 12%.
- The agency revised earlier years’ estimates upward as part of the release and the government has allocated £1.7 billion over four years plus measures it says will raise about £10 billion a year by 2029–30 to fund thousands of extra compliance and debt‑management staff.
- Campaign groups point to a rising shortfall among the wealthiest — HMRC data show the top 2% now owe about £3.6 billion more in unpaid tax — a trend that critics warn could undermine planned fiscal gains and keep pressure on borrowing and public services.