King Charles paid £12.9m in tax last year, royal accounts reveal as he becomes first monarch to disclose payments
The King and Prince of Wales have released their tax payment information amid a tranche of royal reports
King Charles has released his tax payment information, becoming the first British monarch in history to do so.
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Charles, who pays voluntary income and capital gains tax under an agreement set up by his mother, has been revealed to be among the country's top 100 taxpayers in the 2024-25 financial year.
Since Charles became King following the death of Queen Elizabeth II in September 2022 he has paid more than £30 million in tax, while the Prince of Wales has made payments of more than £20 million in tax during the same period.
In the last tax year, the King paid £12.9 million to HM Revenue and Customs.
William had initially resisted releasing his own tax payments when he became heir to the throne and took on the Duchy of Cornwall, but has released his financial data as a string of royal reports were published.
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James Chalmers, Keeper of The Privy Purse, said: “When Prince of Wales, His Majesty disclosed his tax, and he has asked that we make public his combined income and capital gains tax payments as king.
“Today I can share with you that His Majesty’s tax payable for 2024-25 was £12.9 million.
“If annual media league tables are to be believed on such matters, that places His Majesty among the top 100 taxpayers in the country for that year.
“I can also share with you that His Majesty’s tax payable for 2023-24 was £11.7 million and the total amount of tax payable by His Majesty since accession to the throne is more than £30 million – all of this, remember, on a voluntary basis.
“The tax payable for 2025-2026 is not yet available as the underlying figures are subject to audit and review in accordance with our normal reporting timetables.”
The King’s private sources of income could include money from investments or trading profits, funds generated by his private estates of Balmoral and Sandringham, and private savings.
The Duchy of Lancaster estate, a private portfolio of land, investments and office, retail and industrial properties, also provides the King with an annual income which in 2025-26 was £25.2 million.
It was designed to give the monarch of the day an independent source of income, historically known as the Privy Purse, used for both official and private expenditure and for meeting the expenses of other members of the royal family.
William receives an income from the Duchy of Cornwall, a billion-pound hereditary estate featuring The Oval cricket ground and providing the heir to the throne with funds, independent of the monarch.
He pays tax voluntarily on this income, £21.6 million from the duchy during 2025-26, that is not used to meet official expenditure.
During the 2024-25 financial year his tax bill was £7.76 million in income and capital gains tax and was £8.34 million in 2023-24.