The Sunday Times Tax List has named the UK’s 100 biggest taxpayers for 2026, with the bookmaker owners Fred Done and Peter Done taking the top spot for the first time.
The brothers, who founded Betfred in Warrington in 1967, are estimated to have contributed £400.1m in tax over the past year, pushing them ahead of leading financiers and well-known names from sport and entertainment.
The annual list, compiled by journalist Robert Watts, estimates tax contributions using publicly available company accounts and other financial information. It is not a government ledger, but it is treated as a useful snapshot of the scale of tax receipts generated by the UK’s highest earners and largest business owners.
Across the full top 100, the Tax List estimates combined payments of £5.758bn, up from £4.985bn a year earlier.
Why the total is higher this year
One of the biggest drivers behind the year-on-year jump is corporation tax. The main corporation tax rate has been 25% for profits over £250,000 since April 2023, with a 19% small profits rate below £50,000 and marginal relief in between.
The The Times reported that the rise in the Tax List’s overall total is “largely attributable” to that increase in corporation tax from 19% to 25% (a policy change that predates the current government).
The Tax List also lands in a period of wider tax-system change. From 6 April 2025, the remittance basis for UK-resident non-domiciled individuals was abolished and replaced with a new regime for qualifying newcomers. That shift has been a major factor in public debate about whether some wealthy individuals may choose to relocate, or restructure, in response to the UK’s tax environment.
Who else ranks near the top
Second place in the 2026 list goes to financial trading entrepreneur Alex Gerko, estimated to have paid £331.4m, with hedge fund manager Chris Rokos close behind on £330m.
The rankings underline how heavily the list is shaped by the tax footprint of large companies and highly profitable financial firms, where corporation tax and dividend-related payments can dwarf the personal income tax that even very wealthy individuals pay on salaries alone.
At the same time, the Tax List has increasingly highlighted contributions from sports stars and entertainers whose earnings are high but typically smaller in scale than the biggest corporate-driven tax payments.
High-profile names: music, sport and publishing
Among the celebrity names mentioned in coverage of the 2026 list are author J. K. Rowling and musician Ed Sheeran, along with footballers including Mohamed Salah and Erling Haaland.
Rowling’s estimated tax contribution is reported as £47.5m, placing her 36th on the list.
Former One Direction star Harry Styles is a new entrant, with an estimated £24.7m tax contribution reported in coverage of the list.
The Times also reported that, for the first time, the Tax List included estimates for Premier League footballers’ tax contributions, with Haaland at £16.9m and Salah at £14.5m.
What the Tax List does – and does not – prove
The Tax List is designed to estimate total tax contributions linked to individuals and families, including taxes generated by their businesses. That can include corporation tax paid by companies they own, income tax and national insurance linked to their pay, and other business-related taxes. Because the figures are assembled from financial accounts and assumptions, they should be treated as informed estimates rather than precise totals.
This is also why year-on-year moves can be dramatic. A company can have an unusually profitable year, sell an asset, pay a one-off dividend, or change its corporate structure, and that can shift its estimated tax bill sharply.
It also means the list is not simply a league table of “who paid the most income tax personally”. It is closer to a picture of who generated the biggest overall tax footprint in the UK’s public finances over the past year.
The relocation question: who is leaving, and what that means
One of the storylines running through the 2026 Tax List coverage is the number of wealthy people who are now reported as living abroad. The Times said there is a growing trend of high earners relocating, while still paying substantial sums to the UK through businesses that remain active here.
Names reported in other coverage and commentary around the same issue include Revolut founder Nik Storonsky, whose residency has been the subject of recent reporting and filings scrutiny.
The list and the debate around it feed into a wider policy argument facing any chancellor: how to maximise revenues without discouraging investment, entrepreneurship, and the decision of high earners to remain UK tax resident.
Supporters of tougher rules argue the UK needs reliable income to fund public services and stabilise the long-term fiscal position. Critics warn that if enough high earners leave, the tax base can shrink in ways that are hard to replace quickly – especially when the people in question are owners of major businesses, large employers, or significant investors.
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