King Charles shares eye-watering tax bill for the first ever time

King Charles III just made history by becoming the first ever British monarch to publicly disclose his tax payments.

The 77-year-old royal forked out a whopping £12.9m in tax for 2024-2025, placing him among the country’s top 100 taxpayers.

And since he took the throne following the death of Queen Elizabeth II in September 2022, he has paid more than £30 million in tax.

The reason he’s taken the step of publishing his payments to HM Revenue and Customs is to help aid clarity and accessibility around royal finances, reports PA.

Charles also managed to convince his son, Prince William, 44, to also disclose his own finances, revealing that he paid £7.76m tax within the 2024/2025 period - he has made payments of more than £20 million since becoming the Prince of Wales.

The monarch's tax bill has been released for first time ever (Pool/Getty Images)

As per Hello! Magazine, William’s private secretary Ian Patrick said: "The prince recognises the interest in these arrangements and the importance of appropriate transparency."

Announcing the tax bill, James Chalmers, Keeper of the Privy Purse, said: “When Prince of Wales, His Majesty disclosed his tax, 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.”

Chalmers added: “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.”

Prince William has also disclosed his finances (WPA Pool/Getty Images)

He confirmed that 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’.

For context, Charles voluntarily pays income tax on all his private income, capital gains tax on relevant elements of his assets, and inheritance tax under arrangements agreed by the late Queen Elizabeth that first came into effect in 1993.

The new accounts also show that the Sovereign Grant, which is the source of annual public funding for the Royal Household, is rising to just under £100m for the year 2027-28, as reported by the BBC.

This will be a huge £48.1 million jump from the previous amount that was allocated in 2024-25, which was £51.8 million.

On top of this, Charles also receives an annual income from his Duchy of Lancaster estate - a private portfolio of land, investments, and office, retail, and industrial properties. In 2025-26, he pocketed £25.2 million.

Meanwhile, William receives an income from the Duchy of Cornwall, a billion-pound hereditary estate featuring The Oval cricket ground and providing him with his own funds, independent of the monarch.