The Chancellor, John Healey, will use Wednesday's Budget to let HMRC take tax debts straight from current and savings accounts without a court order, Guido Fawkes reports. The Treasury has not confirmed the plan.
According to the site, taxpayers would have to challenge a withdrawal after the money had gone. The current power applies only where the debt is £1,000 or more and at least £5,000 is left in the account. Guido Fawkes says Healey wants to scrap both limits for people who fail to "engage". Those existing thresholds match the current rules, according to Yahoo Finance and the Commons Library.
The site says HMRC estimates that 4.8 million people and firms each owe under £10,000, about £4bn in total. That figure has not been checked against an HMRC source. A post on X by Politics UK, citing The Times, also says the move targets lower-value debts totalling £4bn.
Guido Fawkes quotes a senior government source promising "rigorous" safeguards. It also reports that HMRC is looking at using credit reference agency data to judge affordability.
HMRC regained its direct recovery powers from September 2025 after a decision by Rachel Reeves at her Spring Statement, Yahoo Finance reports. A report covered by the Gazette says HMRC was owed £43.8bn by 8.2 million taxpayers at the end of 2025-26.