HMRC's "name and shame" list of deliberate tax defaulters
HMRC can publish the name, address and business of someone penalised for deliberately under-paying tax. Whether that happens turns largely on how the problem came to light and how it was disclosed.
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HMRC publishes a list, on GOV.UK, of people and businesses it has penalised for deliberate tax defaults. It is often described as HMRC’s “name and shame” list, and sometimes as its list of tax evaders. That second label is loose: the list records civil penalties for deliberate defaults, and appearing on it does not mean someone has been prosecuted for tax evasion. For someone dealing with a serious tax problem, the prospect of appearing on it can matter as much as the money.
This guide explains who can be named, what is published and for how long, and — most importantly — how the way a problem is disclosed affects whether publication happens at all.
The legal basis for the name and shame list
The power comes from section 94 of the Finance Act 2009. It allows HMRC to publish information about a person who has incurred a penalty for a deliberate failure, including:
- a deliberate inaccuracy in a return or document, under Schedule 24 to the Finance Act 2007
- a deliberate failure to notify HMRC of a liability, under Schedule 41 to the Finance Act 2008
- certain deliberate failures relating to VAT and excise duties
Publication is possible only where the potential lost revenue — broadly, the tax the deliberate failure put at risk — exceeds £50,000, whether from one failure or several investigated together.
The threshold was £25,000 until an amendment to section 94 raised it to £50,000 in 2026. On 2 October 2026 HMRC removed from its published list the names of those where the tax was less than £50,000. Older guidance, and some other websites, still give the £25,000 figure.
Careless errors do not fall within the power, however large. The regime is aimed at deliberate conduct.
What is published
Where HMRC decides to publish, the information can include:
- the person’s name, including any trading name
- their address
- the nature of any business they carry on
- the amount of the potential lost revenue and of the penalty
- the periods to which the default relates
Companies can be named as well as individuals. The information is published on GOV.UK after the penalty has become final, and it is removed after a year; it cannot be published more than a year after the penalty became final.
Where HMRC’s deliberate tax defaulters list is published
HMRC publishes the current list on GOV.UK, where anyone can view it. Each entry is taken down once its publication period ends, so the list changes over time rather than building into a permanent record. We do not reproduce the list here. If you are concerned that your own position could lead to publication, the section below on disclosure is the part that matters.
Does full disclosure keep you off the list?
This is the part of the regime that matters most in practice. HMRC will not publish details of someone who has received the full reduction available for the quality of their disclosure.
The penalty rules reduce a penalty according to how much a person helped HMRC to establish the position — telling HMRC about the problem, helping it quantify the tax, and giving access to records. A full, prompt and co-operative disclosure earns the maximum reduction. It is that maximum reduction, not simply the fact of having disclosed something, that takes a person outside publication.
Two consequences follow:
- An incomplete disclosure can leave the risk in place. A disclosure that has to be corrected later, or that HMRC has to drag out piece by piece, is unlikely to earn the full reduction.
- Earlier is better. The maximum reduction is available for both prompted and unprompted disclosures, but an unprompted disclosure — made before there was reason to think HMRC was about to find the problem — starts from a lower penalty range and is generally easier to make fully.
Monitoring after a deliberate default
Separately from publication, HMRC can place someone penalised for deliberate defaults over the same threshold into its Managing Deliberate Defaulters programme. For a period of up to five years it may monitor their returns more closely, ask for additional information, and carry out further checks. It is a compliance regime rather than a public one, but it is worth knowing it exists.
Is this list the same as “naming” tax avoidance schemes?
No. HMRC also publishes details of promoters of tax avoidance schemes and of the schemes themselves, under different legislation. That is aimed at the people selling schemes and at warning potential users; it is separate from the deliberate defaulters list.
What to do if you are concerned
If you know a past position involved something that HMRC might regard as deliberate, and HMRC has not yet written about it, the options are materially better now than after a letter arrives. See our pages on voluntary disclosures and the Let Property Campaign, and our guide to how far back HMRC can investigate — deliberate behaviour carries a twenty-year assessment limit, so a disclosure may need to go back a long way.
If HMRC has already written, the letter’s type and deadline come first. Start with identifying the letter, or contact us.
Sources
- Finance Act 2009, section 94 (publishing details of deliberate tax defaulters)
- Finance Act 2007, Schedule 24 (penalties for errors) and Finance Act 2008, Schedule 41 (penalties for failure to notify)
- HMRC, “Publishing details of deliberate tax defaulters” (GOV.UK), including its change note of 2 October 2026 on removing entries below £50,000
- HMRC, Compliance Handbook guidance on managing deliberate defaulters, CH190100 (the publication questions, with the £50,000 qualifying potential lost revenue test)
This guide is general information, not advice on any particular case.