Angela Rayner, a member of the UK Parliament, has been cleared by HMRC of any wrongdoing or carelessness over her tax affairs, paving the way for a potential leadership bid as Keir Starmer’s grip on power. Angela Rayner has settled £40,000 in unpaid stamp duty after initially paying the lower rate, but she has not paid any penalty as a result of the investigation. HMRC was also satisfied that there was no tax avoidance.
Angela Rayner’s Tax Affairs
Back then, in April 2025, when Angela Rayner, the then Deputy Prime Minister, bought a flat in Hove with her partner, she paid the standard rate of stamp duty of £30,000 on the £800,000 transaction.
This purchase was a part-funded by the proceeds of selling her 25% share in the family home, in her constituency of Ashton-under-Lyne, a trust in the name of her disabled son, which was created by court order years earlier, after her son was awarded damages due to a medical incident when he was a baby.
However, the Ashton-under-Lyne property was owned by her son’s trust. Angela Rayner accepted that she should have paid the higher rate of stamp duty of £70,000. She also shared that she should have taken advice from a tax specialist during the purchase.
Angela Rayner’s Resignation due to Tax Issue
The incident of buying a flat in Hove with her partner led to Angela Rayner’s resignation. The Ashton-under-Lyne property, which was a part-funded, which was actually a trust in her son’s name, was created by court order years earlier, after her son was awarded damages due to a medical incident when he was a baby.
What was the HMRC Investigation?
Angela Rayner’s lawyer states that HMRC has been satisfied throughout the investigation that she did not engage in any deliberate tax avoidance. The HMRC authorities have been looking for the two main answers:
First, whether she should in fact, have been liable for the higher rate of stamp duty as effectively a second homeowner.
Second, whether she was careless in arranging her tax affairs, a finding that could have led to her being hit with a fine of £8,000.
Angela Rayner Tax Affair: Decision of Tax Inspectors
HMRC did not find Angela Rayner to be careless in the way she approached the transaction, including the fact that she did not seek specialist tax advice, instead relying on her conveyancer, and therefore levied no penalty. But it nevertheless found she was liable for the higher rate of stamp duty.
Where does Angela Rayner’s Tax Affair stand?
Angela Rayner is no longer burdened by an ongoing HMRC investigation and free of any additional fine, and will feel free to play a full role in any leadership challenge to Keir Starmer.
Her lawyers’ detailed argument against HMRC may also allow her to claim that the tax authorities were not acting within the spirit of the law, and she will now pay the higher £70,000 rate of stamp duty on her Hove flat.
