Angela Rayner settles tax bill with HMRC

Former Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner has resolved her tax affairs with HMRC following an investigation, settling £40,000 in unpaid stamp duty.

The MP for Ashton-under-Lyne said she had been "exonerated" of the accusation she had "deliberately sought to avoid tax" in a statement on Thursday.

Rayner stood down as deputy prime minister and housing secretary in September 2025 after admitting she underpaid stamp duty on her £800,000 flat in Hove.

Rayner is seen as a potential challenger to Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer, as he battles to save his premiership following a disastrous set of election results for the Labour Party last week.

However, the outstanding HMRC investigation was seen as an obstacle to her standing.

In an interview with the Guardian, the prime minister's former deputy did not rule out running in any Labour leadership race but said she would not "trigger" a contest.

She said: "I'll play my part in doing everything we possibly can to deliver the change, because it's not a personal ambition, I know the difference it makes."

Pressed over whether the prime minister should step aside, Rayner said: "Keir will have to reflect on that."

It comes after allies of Health Secretary Wes Streeting told the BBC they expected him to challenge Sir Keir for the Labour leadership as soon as Thursday.

Streeting would need the support of 81 MPs to trigger a leadership contest under the Labour Party's rules.

The news about Rayner's tax affairs was first published by the Guardian newspaper and ITV News on Thursday morning.

Speaking to the Guardian about the tax saga that led to her resignation, Rayner said voters had been "left with the impression that I somehow tried to avoid – or worse had been reckless or careless – in my actions".

"Whereas now hopefully people can see that actually it's a really complex area of law," she said.

In her interview with ITV News journalist Paul Brand, Rayner said she welcomed the HMRC's conclusion that "there wasn't any wrongdoing and that I didn't try to avoid paying tax, and I wasn't careless in the way I conducted myself".

The BBC has seen an email from the tax authority to Rayner's lawyers which verifies that HMRC regards the matter as closed.

HMRC also spells out in the email that Rayner will not face a penalty charge.

A penalty is incurred if a tax error is "careless" or "deliberate".

At the time of her resignation, the prime minister's ethics adviser said Rayner "acted with integrity" but had breached the ministerial code. He said she did get legal advice when buying the property, but failed to seek further expert tax advice as recommended.

On Thursday morning, the former deputy prime minister said: "I set out to pay the correct amount of tax. I took reasonable care and acted in good faith, based on the expert advice I received, and HMRC has accepted this."

She added: "I wanted to ensure that I paid every penny that I owed, and have done so. I am relieved that my family can now move on - and that I can get on with my job."

When scrutiny arose around the former deputy prime minister's tax arrangements, her team initially insisted she had paid the correct amount but as a result of the media scrutiny, sought advice from a senior lawyer.

After receiving the lawyer's final opinion, Rayner acknowledged she had not paid enough tax when buying her East Sussex flat and said the "mistake" came about because she believed it was the only property she owned.

However, due to complex arrangements surrounding a trust for her disabled son, the Hove flat should have been considered to be Rayner's second home - meaning she should have paid an additional £40,000 in stamp duty.

Following HMRC's investigation, Rayner accepted the assessment that she should have paid the higher rate of stamp duty and has paid the additional sum.

Rayner has made a number of critical interventions following last week's election results, calling for bolder action from the government as she warned Labour faced its "last chance".

She has also called for Andy Burnham to be allowed to return to Parliament.

The Greater Manchester mayor is not currently an MP but supporters hope he can find a seat and win a by-election so he would be able to stand if there were a leadership contest.

Rayner denied she had done a deal with Burnham to support him as leader if he promised to give her a senior position in his cabinet, telling ITV: "I'm not doing deals or anything like that."