What is HMRC's publishing deliberate defaulters list?

Beyond the financial penalty, HMRC has a separate power to publicly name deliberate defaulters, sometimes described informally as a name and shame list.

This applies only where the behaviour was deliberate, the tax lost exceeds a statutory threshold, and your disclosure didn't earn the maximum reduction available for unprompted, fully cooperative disclosure.

If you meet the conditions for the best possible disclosure reduction, even in a deliberate case, publication doesn't apply. It's designed as an additional consequence for the least cooperative deliberate defaulters, not an automatic add-on to every deliberate penalty.

Section 94 Finance Act 2009 gives HMRC the legal authority to publish details of a person's deliberate default, including their name, address, nature of the business, and the amount of tax and penalty involved.

The power only bites once specific conditions are met: the penalty must relate to deliberate behaviour, the potential lost revenue must exceed the statutory threshold set out in the legislation, and the disclosure must not have secured the top rate of penalty reduction for unprompted, fully cooperative disclosure.

HMRC exercises this power through published lists updated periodically, and details are generally removed after a set period rather than remaining indefinitely.

If HMRC finds deliberate behaviour in your company's tax affairs and the amount involved is significant, publication is a real possibility, not just a theoretical one.

This is reputational as well as financial. Suppliers, lenders and customers can see the published details, which makes this consequence distinct from, and arguably more damaging than, the penalty percentage itself for many directors.

The best protection is straightforward: disclose fully and unprompted wherever possible, and cooperate completely once an enquiry starts, because meeting the highest disclosure standard is the route that keeps you off the list even in a deliberate case.

The direct cost is reputational: your details being visible to anyone who searches HMRC's published list for a defined period. For a director whose business relies on trust and referrals, this can affect commercial relationships.

There's no separate fine for publication itself; it sits alongside the tax, interest and penalty you already owe, but it raises the practical stakes of how you handle the enquiry.

Growth plan clients have free tax investigation insurance included, supporting professional representation aimed at maximising your disclosure reduction and avoiding publication — see /fees.

Don't assume publication is automatic once behaviour is labelled deliberate. Full, unprompted cooperation can still avoid it.

Don't delay engaging with HMRC once you know a deliberate finding is being considered; delay reduces the chance of the top disclosure reduction.

Don't ignore correspondence warning you that publication is being considered. There's usually a chance to make representations before details go live.