HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) has identified over 200 billionaires with UK tax footprints as part of a broader initiative to increase tax revenue from the country’s wealthiest individuals. The agency aims to raise at least £500 million in additional tax by 2030 through enhanced scrutiny of high-net-worth taxpayers’ assets and financial activities.

The list, which includes individuals required to file self-assessment tax returns in the UK regardless of residency status, will be reviewed annually. HMRC has appointed a dedicated “customer compliance manager” to each billionaire for voluntary engagement and discussions. This intensified focus aligns with the autumn budget announcement and is supported by plans to recruit or redeploy 400 additional specialists by 2030 to address non-compliance, particularly related to offshore assets such as trusts, companies, and property holdings.

The tax authority is also investing in data analytics, artificial intelligence, and upgraded digital systems to improve its capacity to detect tax risks and enforce compliance. HMRC stated its commitment to modernizing tax administration for wealthy individuals and their advisers by creating better-connected datasets, enhanced caseworking tools, secure digital communication channels, and responsibly deploying AI technologies.

Concerns about the tax gap among wealthy individuals remain significant. Last year, the Commons Public Accounts Committee highlighted HMRC’s limited understanding of billionaires’ complex financial arrangements and recommended the increased use of publicly available data, such as rich lists, to improve oversight. HMRC estimates the “wealthy tax gap”—the discrepancy between taxes owed by high-net-worth taxpayers and what is actually collected—at approximately £3.6 billion, representing about 6 percent of the overall tax gap.

The government classifies wealthy taxpayers as those with incomes exceeding £200,000 or assets valued above £2 million within any of the past three years. The number of individuals meeting this criterion has grown from 700,000 in 2021 to around 1.3 million. These taxpayers contributed roughly £160 billion in tax revenues during the 2025-2026 fiscal year.

HMRC noted that it will carefully evaluate taxpayer behavior to differentiate between honest mistakes, carelessness, and deliberate fraud. The agency has nearly doubled penalty charges against wealthy individuals over the past two years, increasing from 456 in 2023-24 to 803 in 2025-26. It further expects to boost annual enforcement actions targeting the most serious fraudulent cases by 20 percent compared with 2023-24 levels by 2029.

Separately, there is concern about the recent exodus of billionaires from the UK. Notable departures include hedge fund founder Chris Rokos in September, alongside Lakshmi Mittal, head of ArcelorMittal, and Egypt’s wealthiest man, Nassef Sawiris. These movements have raised questions about the UK’s tax competitiveness and the effectiveness of ongoing enforcement efforts to retain high-net-worth individuals.