The Government is facing calls to end the Royal Family’s special tax exemptions, as King Charles prepares to release his personal tax bill this week.
The King will be the first British monarch to reveal such information – set to be published in Thursday’s royal accounts – in a bid by Buckingham Palace to boost transparency.
However, campaigners and royal commentators have condemned the tax exemptions that both Charles and Prince William will continue to enjoy.
Too much secrecy will surround royal finances even after the King shares his tax bill, they told The i Paper.
Calls for greater openness follow a series of scandals surrounding Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor – including an “outrageous” rental income he was able to receive at Windsor over two decades.
What the King pays tax on
Charles currently pays voluntary income tax on the Privy Purse – the private income generated from the Duchy of Lancaster.
This portfolio of properties, land and other assets is independent of the Crown Estate, which gives its profits to the Treasury.
The Duchy provided the King with an annual income of £26.8m in 2024-25. It is used for both official and private expenditure – including the expenses of other Royal Family members.
Separately, the King privately owns the Balmoral and Sandringham estates, inherited from Queen Elizabeth II. He earns a personal income from these estates and has other personal, private investments.
The Royal Family also gets the taxpayer-funded Sovereign Grant which is provided to support official duties and the maintenance of royal palaces, such as Buckingham Palace and St James’s Palace.
The Sovereign Grant is set annually, based on a complex mechanism tied to the profits of the Crown Estate. It rose from £86m in 2024-25 to £132m in 2025-26 – though the increase included £34m to fund an upgrade to Buckingham Palace.
Charles did release some personal tax information when he was Prince of Wales. But William has not done the same since he inherited the Duchy of Cornwall property empire.
The release of the King’s personal tax bill for 2024-25 is not expected to contain much detail. But it could shed some light on how much the Balmoral and Sandringham estates generate.
Calls for the royals to pay inheritance tax
Charles did not pay any inheritance tax on the £650m fortune he inherited when his mother died. Inheritance tax is paid at a rate of 40 per cent on estates worth over £320,000.
Historically, King George VI was exempt from paying inheritance tax due to the abdication of the throne by his brother Edward. King George VI did not have much personal wealth to be taxed.
“There’s no reason why they can’t pay inheritance tax,” said Graham Smith, chief executive of the anti-monarchy group Republic. “We don’t owe them a multimillion-pound lifestyle.”
Both Charles and William face calls for greater transparency over royal finances (Photo: Henry Nicholls/Getty)But some argue that imposing inheritance tax on the royals would be counter-productive, since it may increase the amount taxpayers would have to give through the Sovereign Grant.
“If you wanted the monarch to pay inheritance tax, you would probably have to give them more money and it would be an absolutely weird system,” said royal expert Richard Fitzwilliams.
Corporation tax exemption ‘not fair’
Queen Elizabeth began paying voluntary income tax in 1993 in response to criticisms of the monarchy. Prime minister John Major said at the time that he feared that royal assets could be “salami-sliced away by capital taxation through generations”.
However, Charles’ Duchy of Lancaster and William’s Duchy of Cornwall continue to remain exempt from paying capital gains or corporation tax.
William voluntarily pays income tax on Duchy of Cornwall profits. He enjoyed his own revenue of £22.9m last year – money that he can use for his household and charitable activities.
It has been estimated that he may have paid £7m in tax last year. But unlike Charles when he was Prince of Wales, William has not formally disclosed the amount.
The heir to the throne is considering moves to increase transparency around his tax affairs, The i Paper understands.
“People are concerned about the Duchy estates because they are run just like businesses and they don’t have any of the same conditions attached to them,” Andrew Lownie, a royal biographer and historian, said.
Smith said members of the Royal Family “should all be subject to the same tax as everyone else – not voluntarily or not with any opt-outs or exemptions”.
Labour peer Margaret Hodge previously told The i Paper that she would like the Government to remove the Duchies’ tax exemptions. “It’s not fair – there should be a level-playing field.”
However, some royal observers argue that the profit the monarchy helps generate justifies its special tax status.
“Overall, you simply will not get a bargain like the monarchy anywhere because of the amount it actually brings in,” said Fitzwilliams.
“It’s quite extraordinary with other monarchies slowing down in Europe, the British monarchy is completely unique and we ought to remember that when we see the figures. But we also must get value for the people.”
Secrecy around royal wills remains
Royals also get exemptions that protect the secrecy of their wills. According to British law, all wills are public records except for royal wills which began being sealed in 1911.
Making the wills open to the public it would “set a good example”, said Lownie. The royal author argued that there is no historical basis for the sealing of royal wills.
Alongside the Sovereign Grant report and the King’s tax information, the Duchy of Lancaster’s accounts will also be published later this week.
A Buckingham Palace spokesperson said: “Our aim is to explain all elements of royal finances in a way that further enhances clarity and accessibility, while also placing it in its historical and constitutional context.”
They added: “To put it simply: we continue to modernise and evolve.”
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