HM Revenue and Customs has received funding in the 2026 Budget to recruit an extra 670 compliance officers. The figure comes from the Budget Red Book, as reported by Civil Service World, and the additional officers are expected to bring in £415 million by 2031-32.

Why HMRC is expanding compliance

The new posts sit on top of an earlier commitment made at the 2025 Spending Review to recruit 5,500 additional compliance officers by 2029-30. Taken together, the planned increase is now 6,170 officers. The Budget also sets aside £205 million for HMRC to modernise the tax system, close the tax gap and implement Budget tax measures, and £70 million over five years for its existing partnerships with private-sector debt collection agencies.

What jobseekers should — and should not — take from this

The expansion is part of a wider Budget push to raise revenue by tackling non-compliance, with the government saying measures announced during this Parliament to close the tax gap will raise more than £12 billion in 2029-30. Compliance officers work on checking tax returns, investigating underpayment and pursuing unpaid tax, although the exact mix of roles within the 670 has not been set out in the reporting so far.

This announcement signals hiring at scale over the next few years, but it is not itself a job advertisement. No closing date, salary band or work location for these specific posts has been published in the sources checked for this draft. Candidates interested in HMRC compliance work should therefore watch official HMRC and Civil Service Jobs listings rather than relying on the Budget figure alone. A National Audit Office report last week urged HMRC to focus on preventing avoidable debt and acting earlier.

Sources: Civil Service World, FreeAgent.