Despite historic 2025 successes, Rory McIlroy is absent from the New Year’s Honours List due to a pending HMRC tax review.
Irish golfer Rory McIlroy was considered a favorite for knighthood alongside Tommy Fleetwood and Ryder Cup captain Luke Donald, both English, but all three went unrewarded this year. In 2025, McIlroy completed his career Grand Slam by winning the Masters, becoming the first European to do so. He also shone at the 2025 Ryder Cup, helping Team Europe secure their first away victory since 2012 at Bethpage State Park near New York City.
However, McIlroy’s name was not among the 1,157 honorees on the New Year’s Honours List, which is initially reviewed by the Cabinet Office and then by His Majesty’s Revenue and Customs (HMRC) before submission to the Prime Minister and monarch. According to a report by The Telegraph, HMRC is said to have intervened similarly to when footballer David Beckham’s knighthood was delayed due to tax concerns.
Did Rory McIlroy Intentionally 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 classified by authorities as legal tax reliefs. HMRC later reclassified these as tax avoidance and is investigating whether the projects exploited the “Business Premises Renovation Allowance” scheme to deliberately evade taxes. Currently, there is no evidence suggesting McIlroy intended to avoid taxes deliberately.
Since HMRC influences knighthood decisions, such an investigation can result in refusal. Neither McIlroy nor the British government has commented on this matter so far.