Tax debt rises to more than £48bn in 2022

In 2021-22 the value of new debt was over 50% higher than the average for the tax years from April 2017 to March 2020 and this trend has continued throughout 2022-23. HMRC’s quarterly performance report to December 2022 shows that the level of tax debt owed to HMRC rose to £48.1bn on 31 December 2022 up from £42bn at the end of quarter one. The total debt comprises £7.8bn of managed debt and £40.3bn available for pursuit.

HMRC said: ‘The vast majority of tax debt is owed by small and medium enterprises. There has been very little change in the proportion of customers filing their tax returns but there has been a reduction in the number of customers paying on time which suggests customers remain willing to comply but are unable to pay on time.’

The department added that it had ‘made strong progress...