Summary

HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) has published its 2025-26 accounts, comprising the Trust Statement and Resource Accounts, containing the audit opinion of the Comptroller & Auditor General. HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) reported £966.4 billion of tax revenues for 2025-26. Under the Exchequer and Audit Departments Act 1921, the Comptroller and Auditor General (C&AG) must certify whether the Trust Statement is true and fair, and whether HMRC has used the income and expenditure for the purposes Parliament intended. The C&AG has concluded that: • the figures in the Trust Statement are true and fair; and • HMRC has used income and expenditure for the purposes Parliament intended. The 1921 Act also requires the C&AG to consider whether HMRC’s systems to collect tax are adequate. We found that HMRC’s systems to collect taxes are adequate, subject to the observations in this report and other reports to Parliament. The cost of running HMRC in 2025-26 was £ 7.4 billion. HMRC paid out £ 25.9 billion, including £ 13.4 billion of Child Benefit and £ 8.0 billion of Corporation Tax research and development relief. Under the Government Resources and Accounts Act 2000, the C&AG must certify whether HMRC’s Resource Accounts are true and fair, and whether HMRC has used the income and expenditure for the purposes Parliament intended. The C&AG has concluded that: • the Resource Accounts are true and fair; but • there remains a material level of error and fraud in Corporation Tax research and development reliefs; and • there remains a material level of error and fraud in Child Benefit expenditure. The C&AG has qualifed his regularity opinion on HMRC’s Resource Accounts for a number of years, due to the material levels of estimated error and fraud with Corporation Tax R&D reliefs (2025-26: 5.3%) and Child Beneft (2025-26: 2.0%).