The recent Autumn Budget offers an insight into HMRC’s future areas of focus, through its announcements and future funding commitments. It is clear that HMRC will continue its efforts to address the tax gap, especially in relation to tax evasion, criminal activity, and the hidden economy. For businesses and individuals, this will likely translate directly into a higher risk of HMRC scrutiny and investigation. 

New tools and incentives to detect fraud

The government is not only providing HMRC with additional funding to establish a dedicated small business evasion and enforcement team, but also investing in powerful new tools and incentives to gather information and target high-value non-compliance. 

US-style rewards for informants 

The Budget confirmed a previously discussed reward scheme for informants, modelled on the successful US system. For cases where tax recovered exceeds £1.5 million, HMRC will pay rewards of up to 30% of the additional tax collected. These changes apply with immediate effect. This scheme is designed to incentivise 'whistleblowers' to report serious fraud and evasion by large corporates and wealthy individuals, to help HMRC identify the most valuable cases. 

Data and digital enhancement 

HMRC continues to invest in its capacity to detect evasion through technology.  

From April 2028, HMRC will acquire third-party data more frequently on interest income and card sales, increasing its ability to spot discrepancies and undeclared income. 

The government will publish a call for evidence in early 2026 to develop point-of-sale software standards, improving HMRC’s ability to detect, prevent, and enforce against businesses using illegitimate software to hide sales and evade tax. 

As previously announced, from 1 January 2026 UK Cryptoasset Service Providers will be required to report on their UK tax-resident customers, increasing transparency in the digital asset space.