Whistleblower payouts have almost doubled over the last tax year to £978,256 as HMRC comes under increased pressure to close the tax gap, reveals a freedom of information request from Price Bailey.

This was a record amount paid out to over 151,000 people who tipped HMRC off about tax fraudsters, but in terms of the number of anonymous tips, there were almost 6,000 less than in the 2023/24 tax year. This is equivalent to £6.44 for each whistleblower so whether it moves the dial is another matter.

This was the largest amount paid out for at least seven years, with only £290,250 paid out in 2018/19 to 140,020 whistleblowers.