Loan charge update

As part of the recent Budget, the government published the independent review of the loan charge carried out by Ray McCann and accepted all but one of its recommendations. This includes a new loan charge settlement opportunity along with changes that will make it possible for customers to settle with extra support.

The Independent Loan Charge Review 2025 and the Government Response have been published here – Independent Review of the Loan Charge - GOV.UK

HMRC have published guidance setting out what this means for those affected: HMRC issue briefing: operational activity during the new independent review of the Loan Charge - GOV.UK  

Their tax information and impact note about the recommendations from the review, including a summary of impacts, can also be found on GOV.UK.

Next steps

We understand that:

• HMRC will write to taxpayers in scope of the Review to make them aware of the new settlement opportunity from the beginning of next year. It will also publish guidance on GOV.UK, which will provide further detail on the operation of the new settlement opportunity.
• After first writing to taxpayers in scope of the Review in early 2026, HMRC will then begin contacting them again, from Spring 2026, to start explaining the settlement opportunity to them in more detail. HMRC will explain what it means for taxpayers based on their specific circumstances.
• HMRC will contact taxpayers in stages and all taxpayers in scope will be contacted by the end of the 2027-28 tax year. HMRC will encourage taxpayers who want to settle to contact their named HMRC caseworker proactively, and not to wait for a letter. Taxpayers that contact HMRC will be prioritised for settlement.

Further updates

LITRG and the CIOT provided input into the review. We will update our main loan charge guidance with further information about the new settlement opportunity as it becomes available.