Despite his historic 2025 achievements, Rory McIlroy is absent from the New Year’s Honours List due to an HMRC tax inquiry.
Northern Irish golfer Rory McIlroy, alongside Tommy Fleetwood and Ryder Cup captain Luke Donald, was seen as a favorite for knighthood by King Charles III. 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. He also shone in the 2025 Ryder Cup, contributing to Europe’s first away win since 2012 at Bethpage State Park near New York City.
Yet, McIlroy’s name was not among the 1,157 honorees on the New Year’s Honours List, which is reviewed first 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 from The Telegraph, HMRC intervened here, similar to its role in footballer David Beckham’s delayed knighthood years ago.
Did Rory McIlroy Intentionally Avoid Taxes?
McIlroy, recently named BBC Sports Personality of the Year, participated in urban regeneration projects in Liverpool, Birmingham, and Sheffield in 2013, which were considered legitimate tax relief schemes at the time. Later, HMRC reclassified these as tax avoidance and is currently investigating if the projects exploited the Business Premises Renovation Allowance to deliberately evade tax. So far, there is no evidence McIlroy intentionally avoided tax payments.
Since HMRC has a say in knighthood decisions, such an ongoing investigation can lead to refusal of the honor. Neither McIlroy nor the British government have commented on this matter yet.