All the unanswered questions about King Charles’ finances after tax bill revealed
King Charles became the first monarch to release a tax bill worth £12.9 million for 2024-25, putting him among the country’s top 100 taxpayers for that financial year.
A number of royal accounts were published on Thursday, including details that Charles has paid a total of more than £30 million in taxes since becoming King in 2022, while William has paid more than £20 million in taxes since becoming Prince of Wales.
It was also announced that the Sovereign Endowment, which funds Charles’ official duties and the affairs of his household, will increase by £45.8 million to £132.1 million in 2025-26.
Additionally, accounts showed that Prince William took the most expensive official foreign trip in the 12 months to March 2026, taking a three-day round trip by charter plane at a cost of £130,106, including a separate staff planning visit to Saudi Arabia in February.
Increased transparency into the royal family’s finances will be welcomed in some quarters, but questions remain about them.
How much are King Charles and Prince William worth?
“Buckingham Palace has confirmed that Her Majesty’s tax dues since accession are more than £30 million. In the two full tax years after becoming King, Her Majesty’s tax bill was £11.7 million in 2023-24 and £12.9 million in 2024-25 respectively”.
That’s all the Royal Family’s statement said about the King’s tax bill. No details were given beyond these figures; There is no breakdown of the scope of payments.
This is important because the royal family’s income can be complex and complicated, and Buckingham Palace does not comment on this.
As well as the Sovereign Grant, the King also receives income from the Duchy of Lancaster, the monarch’s estate, while the Prince of Wales receives net profits from the Duchy of Cornwall, a multi-billion pound hereditary estate that includes assets such as the Oval cricket ground in London.
In 2025-26, the King’s income from the Duchy of Lancaster was £25.2 million, while William’s income from the Duchy during the same period was £21.6 million.
However, the value of the King’s private investments and inherited wealth is not publicly disclosed.
Could the king’s tax affairs be more transparent?
The King and Prince of Wales face no legal obligation to pay tax, but the Sovereign and the heir have voluntarily paid capital gains tax as well as income tax on gains from Duchies and personal investments (net of expenses), but have not paid the Sovereign Grant since 1992.
Dan Neidle, founder of Tax Policy Associates, said the decision to publish how much tax the King paid was still “pretty opaque”.
He told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme: “We don’t know how much of this is capital gains tax and how much is income tax.”
“Very importantly, we don’t know what expenses were deducted to come up with the tax-paying figure.”
In a thread on X, Mr Neidle added: “I wonder what the point of this exercise is.”
He made two suggestions for how this could be improved: “An appropriate level of disclosure for assets of this size. The kind of accounts you’d see from a large private company. A breakdown of ‘tax’.”
“But I’d rather be more grown up. Drop the argument that it’s a ‘tax’ (it’s not). It’s just a complicated and convoluted way of reducing the pound sterling paid to the King.”
We also don’t know how much other royals were paid. The Sovereign Grants Act 2011 meant that amounts paid to them, including minor royals, would no longer be published.
There are 11 Windsors performing royal duties, and seven of them are paid an income from Charles’ fortune. However, it is not known how much salary they receive.
