Harry Potter star Rupert Grint ordered to pay further £1.8m in tax after losing HMRC legal battle

Harry Potter star Rupert Grint was ordered to pay the sum in 2019 after HMRC launched an investigation into his tax return from the 2011-12 tax year

Former Harry Potter actor Rupert Grint must pay more than £1.8 million in tax after losing a legal battle with HM Revenue and Customs.

Mr Grint, who played Ron Weasley in the franchise, was ordered to pay the sum in 2019 after HMRC launched an investigation into his tax return from the 2011-12 tax year. The actor had received a £4.5 million sum from a company which managed his business affairs as “consideration for rights, records and goodwill” from his work, which he claimed was a “capital asset” and therefore the subject of capital gains tax.

But HMRC argued that the fee should have been classed as income, and following the investigation told Mr Grint he needed to pay an additional £1,801,060 in tax. At a hearing in the First-Tier Tribunal, held in London in November and December 2022, lawyers for Mr Grint appealed against HMRC’s decision, arguing that the right amount of tax had been paid.

But in a ruling, Tribunal Judge Harriet Morgan dismissed the appeal, finding that the sum “is taxable as income”. She said that the money “derived substantially the whole of its value from the activities of Mr Grint”, which was “otherwise realised” as income in the 2011/12 tax year.

Mr Grint starred in the first Harry Potter film in 2001 as a teenager and is calculated to have earned around £24 million from playing Ron Weasley. He previously lost a separate court battle concerning a £1 million tax refund in 2019. The Harry Potter star has a daughter with long-term partner Georgia Groome, who is bets known for starring in Angus, Thongs and Perfect Snogging.

The couple started dating in 2011, but many people were completely unaware until a snap of them went viral on Twitter. One person tweeted: "I was today years old when I found out Georgia from Angus, thongs and perfect snogging has been going out with Ron Weasley since 2011 ????"

Speaking to Glamour about his relationship with Georgia, Rupert said: "It's a very natural thing - we’re just best friends. We’re kind of the same person; we think the same way. That’s always made it work - that’s why it’s lasted. It’s hard to pinpoint exactly what it is, but it works and it’s great."

In 2019, the pair sparked marriage rumours when they were spotted wearing what looked like matching wedding rings, but a representative insisted they hadn't tied the knot in secret. Then in May 2020, the couple welcomed their first baby, Wednesday Grint, together and Rupert joined Instagram to share a sweet snap of their newborn as his first ever post. He wrote: "Hey Instagram....only 10 years late, but here I am. Grint on the Gram! Here to introduce you all to Wednesday G. Grint. Stay safe, Rupert."

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