Despite historic successes in 2025, Rory McIlroy is absent from the New Year’s Honours List due to an HMRC tax review blocking his knighthood.
Northern Irish golfer Rory McIlroy was considered a favorite for a knighthood by King Charles III alongside Tommy Fleetwood and Ryder Cup captain Luke Donald of England. However, all three golfers missed out this year. In 2025, McIlroy completed his career Grand Slam with a Masters victory, becoming the first European to do so. At the 2025 Ryder Cup, the 36-year-old shone with Team Europe, securing their first away win since 2012 at Bethpage State Park near New York City.
Despite these achievements, McIlroy’s name was not among the 1,157 honorees on the New Year’s Honours List, which is first reviewed by the Cabinet Office and then by His Majesty’s Revenue and Customs (HMRC) before being presented to the Prime Minister and Monarch. According to a report by The Telegraph, HMRC’s intervention, similar to the case with footballer David Beckham, appears to have held back McIlroy’s knighthood.
Did Rory McIlroy Deliberately Avoid Taxes?
McIlroy, recently named BBC Sports Personality of the Year, was involved in urban renewal projects in Liverpool, Birmingham and Sheffield in 2013, which were initially considered legal tax reliefs by authorities. Later, HMRC reassessed these as potential tax avoidance schemes, currently investigating whether the projects exploited the ‘Business Premises Renovation Allowance’ to deliberately evade taxes. So far, there is no evidence McIlroy intended to evade taxes.
Since HMRC influences knighthood decisions, such suspicions or ongoing reviews can lead to a refusal. Neither McIlroy nor the British government has commented on the matter so far.