HMRC Tax Rewards Program (United Kingdom)

HMRC was established in 2005 by the Commissioners for Revenue and Customs Act.  It is responsible for safeguarding the flow of money to the Exchequer through the collection of tax and other required payments, including customs duties, so that the government can fund public services and help families and individuals with targeted statutory financial support.  It also facilitates international trade, protects the UK’s economic and physical security at the border, and guards against money laundering.  HMRC can pursue cases both civilly and criminally.

The potential for the tax reward program is substantial  when one considers the number and types of taxes HMRC collects, which include:  income tax, corporation tax, capital gains tax, inheritance tax, insurance premium tax, stamp tax, land and petroleum revenue taxes, environmental taxes, Value Added Tax (VAT), and customs and excise duties.

HMRC’s new tax reward program is modeled on the successful IRS Whistleblower Program in the United States. The IRS Whistleblower Program enables people with information about tax fraud to help the government recover money that should have been paid under the tax laws, and share in a portion of the recovery.

In its most recent annual report to Congress, the IRS Whistleblower Office noted the following accomplishments:  

• Since 2007, the IRS Whistleblower Program Whistleblower Office has collected $7.37 billion and made awards to whistleblowers totaling $1.3 billion. 

• In Fiscal Year 2024 alone, the program collected $474.7 million and made awards to whistleblowers totaling $123.5 million.

Getnick Law has been at the forefront of enhancing and utilizing the IRS Whistleblower Program since its inception.

The HMRC’s new tax reward program includes provisions that mirror key elements of the IRS Whistleblower Program that have made it a success, and that are likely to do the same for HMRC’s new program.  They include:  

• Threshold: HMRC has set a tax collection threshold of £1.5 million to qualify for a reward under the program.  This will allow the agency to cull out less significant matters and focus instead on cases with the potential for high returns, thereby allowing for investigative resources to be allocated most efficiently and effectively.
• Floor and Ceiling on Rewards: HMRC has set the range of rewards between 15% and 30%.  The floor is crucial to incentivizing informants and their counsel to participate in the program, and the ceiling limits the reward to protect the public fisc.
• No Caps on Rewards: Beyond the percentage limits, there will be no cap on the size of the reward, i.e., the greater the recovery, the greater the reward.  This has proven to be key to the success of the IRS Whistleblower Program in incentivizing high-value claims.

The new HMRC tax reward program strengthens and expands HMRC’s pre-existing reward program, which remains in effect for smaller matters that do not meet the requirements of the new program. The new program targets large-scale, serious non-compliance by corporations and wealthy individuals, including the misuse of offshore accounts and other tax avoidance schemes.

Getnick Law has been at the forefront of developing, enhancing and utilizing whistleblower laws and programs to combat tax fraud in the United States, including achieving substantial recoveries under the IRS Whistleblower Program and New York False Claims Act.  Getnick Law has brought this expertise to the UK and has been playing a key role in advocating for, and educating the legal community about, the new HMRC tax reward program.

In 2024, Getnick Law and co-counsel represented one of three whistleblowers in an historic $263 million tax fraud recovery from an individual tax payer.  Due to the substantial contributions of our client, in addition to those of the other whistleblowers, they shared a 30% award (the highest possible under the program) of approximately $74 million.  This settlement comprises one of the largest tax whistleblower cases ever.

Getnick Law and co-counsel achieved a $70 million tax fraud recovery in a New York State False Claims Act case against a major hedge fund and related entities.  This result was one of the largest tax whistleblower recoveries in New York State history, with a 22% whistleblower award for our client. 

Getnick Law attorneys are thought leaders in this area.  We have participated in invitation-only collaboration sessions with the IRS Whistleblower Office regarding how to strengthen the IRS Whistleblower Program; and we have spoken on panels to educate others about the program.  We were also on the cutting-edge of conceptualizing and enacting the New York False Claims Act, which is one of the only False Claims Acts that enables individuals to pursue tax fraud on the government’s behalf.

Getnick Law’s managing partner, Neil Getnick, has been shortlisted by The Financial Times for the FT Innovative Lawyers North America Awards 2025 in the Innovative Practitioner category. The awards honor law firms, in-house teams, and individual lawyers who are “using innovative approaches to deliver exceptional value to business and society.”  The Financial Times recognized Mr. Getnick for his recent work in the 2024 historic IRS tax whistleblower case and his role in the implementation of the new tax informant initiative launched by the HMRC. Upon invitation, Mr. Getnick  moderated a plenary workshop panel in September of 2025 at the prestigious annual Cambridge University Economic Crime Symposium on “HMRC’s New Tax Whistleblower Initiative: Applying the Successful U.S. Whistleblower Award Model to the U.K. and E.U.” and Getnick Law Partner Margaret Finerty presented on that panel.  

Chambers USA’s 2025 guide ranks Getnick Law in the top tier for firms in the United States that represent plaintiffs in False Claims Act cases.  Since 1990, Chambers & Partners has identified and ranked the best law firms and lawyers globally. Getnick Law’s Band 1 national ranking was determined after extensive feedback from lawyer and client interviews conducted by Chambers researchers, which addressed Getnick Law’s practice and reputation.

The most successful results under such reward programs are achieved when the government agency and the informant and counsel work together to maximize the recovery. Like the IRS Whistleblower Program, the HMRC initiative will empower private citizens to work with the government to uncover massive fraud committed by companies and powerful individuals, thereby generating significant revenue for the government that will benefit honest taxpayers across the UK.  This arrangement allows the government to leverage those private resources to expose serious underpayment of taxes, effectively expanding the resources of HMRC, without increasing taxes. It is a force multiplier that will assist HMRC fulfill its mission to the public. 

HMRC is poised to embrace this program and take full advantage of the information and resources which will be coming its way.  HMRC has a long and accomplished history of successfully working with informants.  Under the new HMRC program, an enhanced category of informants backed by their counsel’s resources will emerge.  Once embraced by the highly experienced HMRC investigators, the results should exceed anything seen to date.

This new HMRC program provides opportunities for individuals in the US, and around the world, with knowledge of UK tax violations to report this information to the HMRC and to be rewarded for their efforts.  Getnick Law has worked for decades with knowledgeable individuals both domestically and internationally to assist them in reporting fraud.  If you have information regarding a large tax avoidance or evasion scheme that impacts taxes owed to the United Kingdom that you would like to discuss with Getnick Law, please contact us.

If you think you may have information relating to tax fraud, either in the UK or the US, fill out our contact form or call us at (212) 376-5666 for a free evaluation of your potential case. We represent our whistleblower clients on a contingent fee basis, meaning that an attorney’s fee is paid only if your case is successful.