Despite historic successes in 2025, Rory McIlroy is absent from the New Year’s Honours List due to a HMRC tax investigation.
Irish golfer Rory McIlroy was considered a favorite for knighthood by King Charles III alongside Tommy Fleetwood and Ryder Cup captain Luke Donald, also from England. However, all three golfers were left out this year. In 2025, McIlroy completed his career Grand Slam by winning the Masters, becoming the first European ever to do so. At the 2025 Ryder Cup, the 36-year-old also shined with Team Europe, securing the first away victory since 2012 at Bethpage State Park near New York City.
Nevertheless, 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 – the UK tax authority). According to a report by The Telegraph, HMRC intervened in the process, similar to the case of soccer player David Beckham who also waited several years before receiving a 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 considered legal tax relief initiatives by authorities at the time. Later, HMRC decided these projects constituted tax avoidance and is currently investigating whether the schemes exploited the so-called “Business Premises Renovation Allowance” to deliberately avoid tax payments. There is currently no evidence that McIlroy intended to evade taxes.
Since HMRC also has a say in knighthood decisions, such an investigation or suspicion can lead to denial of the honor. Neither the Northern Irish golfer nor the British government has commented on the matter so far.