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By Jack Royston
Chief Royal Correspondent
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Buckingham Palace has released details of King Charles III’s tax payments, showing he has paid more than $40 million since the start of his reign. It is the first time a British monarch has disclosed such information.
Charles became king after the death of his mother, Queen Elizabeth II, in September 2022. In the first full tax year of his reign, 2023–2024, he paid £11.7 million (around $15 million), rising to £12.9 million (around $17 million) in 2024–2025.
The £1.2 million increase in tax paid on his income equates to roughly a 10.3 percent rise, compared with United Kingdom wage growth of 3.4 percent, excluding bonuses.
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The palace's Sovereign Grant Report also revealed the monarchy's annual public funding will be reduced to £99.9 million each year, during the five years from 2027 to 2032. In the year to March 31, 2017, the grant was £42.8 million, meaning it will have more than doubled over roughly a decade.
And the palace confirmed that King Charles III and Queen Camilla will not be moving into Buckingham Palace after the refurbishment work ends, preferring to retain their current home at Clarence House.
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Why It Matters
The unprecedented release of King Charles' tax bill comes as the monarchy has been under growing pressure to be more transparent on finances due to the scandal over Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor's friendship with Jeffrey Epstein.
The Public Accounts Committee of Britain's Parliament is preparing an inquiry into the former prince's living arrangements after it emerged last year that he was paying only a peppercorn rent. Separately, Sian Berry, a Green Party politician, has been pressing to include the Royal Household under Freedom of Information laws.
King Charles' Taxable Income and a Rise in Public Funding
"Buckingham Palace has confirmed the amount of tax payable by His Majesty since Accession is more than £30 million," a palace press release read.
"In the two full tax years since becoming King, His Majesty’s tax bill was £11.7 million in 2023-24 and £12.9 million in 2024-25 respectively."
This implies that from September 2022, when his reign began, to the end of March 2023, he paid more than £5.4 million in taxes. The £1.2 million year-on-year increase represents roughly a 10 percent rise in taxes paid, which could reflect higher income or changes in deductible expenses.
The palace has not confirmed whether he pays the higher 45 percent tax rate or what his total income is. The figures related to income from the Duchy of Lancaster, his private estates at Balmoral and Sandringham and personal investments.
The monarchy's public funding, known as the Sovereign Grant, increased to £137.9 million (around $180 million) in 2026-2027, up from £132.1 million in 2025-2026. A portion of the figure will fund refurbishment work at Buckingham Palace, now in its final year.
From 2027 to 2032, the grant will drop to £99.9 million per year, and there will be no further refurbishment work at the palace.
The new figure is lower than during the refurbishment period, when additional funding was allocated for Buckingham Palace works. It is also more than double the level of the Sovereign Grant in the year before the work started, in 2016-17, when it was £42.8 million.
James Chalmers, the Keeper of the Privy Purse, or treasurer to the king, said in a statement released to Newsweek: "His Majesty is guided by a singular purpose—to serve with constancy, devotion and unwavering resolve.
"So, while much changes, our central principles remain: to deliver value for money and to support the Royal Family as they seek to help shape a better world, here in the United Kingdom, across the Commonwealth and beyond.
"A future in which tradition and modernity work hand-in-hand for the benefit of all.”
How the Increases Compare to UK Wage Growth
Year-on-year growth in average weekly earnings for British employees was 3.4 percent, excluding bonuses, in the most recent Office of National Statistics data set, comparing the three months from February to April with the same period a year before.
Wage growth in the U.K. has been only a little higher than inflation, with the ONS stating: "Annual growth in real terms, adjusted for inflation using the Consumer Prices Index including owner occupiers' housing costs (CPIH), was 0.1% for regular pay and 1.2% for total pay."
In July 2025, U.K. inflation (CPI) was 3.8 percent, falling to 2.8 percent in May 2026. By either figure, the growth in both the public and private royal finances has far exceeded inflation, which has averaged 3.39 percent since 2016, according to the Bank of England.
Had the grant grown in line with inflation, Buckingham Palace's announcement would have been for a £60.4 million grant in 2027, according to the Bank of England inflation calculator. That is £30.5 million lower than the £99.9 million announced.
Graham Smith, chief executive of anti-monarchy campaign group Republic, told Newsweek: "There's no possible justification for £100 million being spent on an institution that is there to provide us with one person.
"The whole report is deeply dishonest. The stuff about his taxes doesn't tell us what he's actually earning so we don't know what he's including in his taxes or what he's paying. We don't know whether he's including VAT."
King Charles and Queen Camilla Staying at Clarence House
Queen Elizabeth II lived at Buckingham Palace for much of her reign, though she moved to Windsor Castle in her later years, while Charles and Camilla lived at Clarence House.
Following the succession, the king and queen stayed at their existing home, and aides have now confirmed that, even after the refurbishment, they will not move to Buckingham Palace and instead continue to use Clarence House as their London residence.
A palace press release said this was to reflect "Their Majesties’ wishes that the Palace remains the ceremonial centre of Royal life, the primary workplace of the Royal Household and a national heritage asset with increased opportunities for public access."
A palace spokesperson said in a statement to Newsweek: “It will be a buzzing hive of royal activity in every other way. His Majesty retains huge affection for Buckingham Palace and a deep respect for its role in royal and public life.
“It will remain a working home but we are seeking to widen public access precisely to maximise the national benefit of a publicly-funded building.”
Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor as Backdrop to Tax Bill Release
Parliament’s growing pressure for greater transparency over royal finances has been sharpened by the controversy surrounding Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor’s lease of Royal Lodge, the 30-room Windsor property he occupied under arrangements that included a nominal “peppercorn” rent.
The Commons Public Accounts Committee first wrote to the Crown Estate and the Treasury in October 2025, seeking details of the lease, and then announced in December that the correspondence would form the basis of a new inquiry into the Crown Estate.
Sir Geoffrey Clifton-Brown, the Conservative MP who chairs the committee, framed the issue as one of taxpayer value. “The cross-party Public Accounts Committee which I Chair is united in taking our responsibility for upholding best value for taxpayers’ money very seriously,” he said. “In that spirit, we feel it is reasonable to seek further information on the status of, and rationale for, the lease of Royal Lodge.”
In his letter, he went further, asking: “Does the current tenancy remain the most appropriate use of the Royal Lodge in light of the recent changed role for Prince Andrew, and if so, on what grounds?”
The Royal Lodge row sits within a broader parliamentary push to prise open royal finances and records.
Green Party MP Sian Berry is preparing a Freedom of Information amendment that, if passed into law, would bring the King and the Royal Household within disclosure laws, along with the Royal Archive and the Duchies of Cornwall and Lancaster. She said releasing royal documents and data would “be a huge step for transparency in what has been a shadowy institution for far too long.”
“It is outrageous that there is a specific carve-out under freedom of information legislation for the royal family," she added. "This unnecessarily shields what should be a perfectly normal, accountable part of our constitution, and it has to go.”
There are currently five Green Party MPs, so she would have to try to persuade other parties to back her amendment. Even if it does not succeed, it reflects a desire among U.K. politicians to push for greater royal accountability.
Contact Newsweek editors on this story: Daniel Orton and Sam Wilson.
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