The UK government, following the lead of successful US programs, has launched a new whistleblower reward initiative in His Majesty’s Revenue and Customs (HMRC), the UK’s tax authority, designed to encourage individuals to report serious tax fraud, including those involving wealthy high-net-worth individuals, large corporations and offshore or avoidance schemes. This program, announced on November 26, 2025 during UK Chancellor of the Exchequer, Rachel Reeves’, Autumn Budget Speech to Parliament, is a significant development in the UK's fight against a wide range of tax fraud and its effort to strengthen tax compliance and close the tax gap.

Key Parameters of the New HMRC Whistleblower Reward Program

The new HM Revenue and Customs program, referred to on the dedicated UK Government webpage www.gov.uk/guidance/reporting serious tax avoidance or evasion as the “Strengthened Reward Scheme” and in British English more generally as a whistleblower reward scheme, is specifically designed to solicit high-quality, actionable intelligence that leads to substantial tax recoveries.

• Award Range: Eligible individuals, also referred to as Confidential Human Intelligence Sources (CHIS), informants or whistleblowers, may receive an award payment of between 15% and 30% of the tax collected by HMRC. There is no cap on the size of the award a whistleblower can receive. This generous whistleblower reward range aligns with best practices in the US, including the IRS whistleblower reward program, and aims to provide a substantial incentive to whistleblowers undertaking the personal and professional risks of filing a tip and exposing tax avoidance or evasion.
• Eligibility Threshold: A key requirement for a whistleblower to be eligible to receive an award is that the information the whistleblower provides HMRC must lead to the collection of at least £1.5 million in evaded or avoided taxes.
• Confidentiality of Whistleblower Information: Any information provided under the program, including the whistleblower’s identity, will be private and confidential.
• Rewards are Discretionary, not Mandatory: Unlike the IRS Whistleblower Program, the decision whether to make a reward is at HMRC’s discretion.
• Ineligibility / Disqualifying Factors: Whistleblowers are ineligible for a reward under a number of circumstances, including if they got the information while working for the government; are required by law to disclose, or not disclose, the information; the information was already known to HMRC or could have been identified through routine processes; or the whistleblower is the taxpayer involved in the tax violations or planned and started the actions that led to the tax violations.
• Target: The program is primarily aimed at obtaining inside information and actionable intelligence regarding high-net-worth individuals and large corporations engaging in complex tax fraud schemes, including the use of complex tax structures and hiding taxable income in overseas jurisdictions and offshore accounts.
• Risks and Deterrence: HNWIs, large companies and others tempted to engage in sophisticated tax dodging schemes, including their network of enablers (e.g., law firms and accountancy firms who assist in the creation of such schemes), should think twice. By launching the Strengthened Reward Scheme, HMRC has deputized and incentivized an army of citizen watchdogs empowered to report on tax cheats committing tax violations, which as of September 1, 2025 now includes a UK corporate strict liability offence of “failure to prevent fraud.”

The Whistleblower Partners Perspective

"The introduction of this strengthened program marks a pivotal moment in the UK's approach to tackling sophisticated tax evasion," notes Mary Inman, a partner at Whistleblower Partners. "By mirroring the successful reward structure of US-style programs, the UK government is signaling a serious commitment to empowering whistleblowers and leveraging their inside information to supercharge HMRC’s enforcement efforts. This presents a unique opportunity for individuals with knowledge of significant tax fraud to come forward, confident in the knowledge that their vital information will not only help combat UK tax fraud but also potentially result in substantial financial protection in the form of whistleblower rewards."

Our attorneys have been on the forefront of advocating for the adoption of US-style whistleblower reward programs in the UK and were instrumental in helping the revamped and strengthened HMRC reward program come to fruition.  Whistleblower Partners also has deep experience representing international whistleblowers who bring tips under the increasing array of US whistleblower reward programs, including the IRS program, as well as international tax whistleblower programs in Canada under the Canada Revenue Agency’s Offshore Tax Informant Program (OTIP), and South Korea under the National Tax Service’s Tax Evasion Informant Reward Program.