Rupert Grint Faces $2.3 Million Tax Bill Tied toHarry PotterResiduals

Mar. 15, 2025

Rupert Grint in 2023.Photo:David M. Benett/Hoda Davaine/Dave Benett/WireImage

David M. Benett/Hoda Davaine/Dave Benett/WireImage

A British judge has ruled that theHarry Potteralum, 36, must pay £1.8 million (about $2.3 million) to His Majesty’s Revenue and Customs (HMRC), the U.K.’s tax agency, after improperly classifying his residual payments from the film series as a capital asset instead of income, theAssociated Pressreported.

PEOPLE has reached out to Grint’s representative for comment.

Rupert Grint in ‘Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone’ in 2001.Collection Christophel / Alamy Stock Photo

Collection Christophel / Alamy Stock Photo

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Lawyers for Grint appealed at the time when the investigation first began, the AP reported, but just this week, a tribunal judge ruled in favor of HMRC and ordered Grint to pay the taxes he owed.

Throughout the case, HMRC cited the “Beatles clause,” likening the tax loophole to a strategy The Beatles tried to use in the 1960s when they formed a company and sold the rights to their music to it to pay capital gains tax instead of income tax,Entertainment Weeklyreported.Per the AP, U.K. Judge Harriet Morgan said in the ruling that Grint’s residual money “derived substantially the whole of its value from the activities of Mr. Grint” and “is taxable as income.”

Morgan also agreed with Grint’s claims that he had left most of his financial matters for his dad Nigel and accountants to handle, and did not know the extent of what had occurred.

Grint “placed his faith in his father and accountants to deal with his financial affairs,” Morgan said, perThe Telegraph.

Rupert Grint in 2019.ANGELA WEISS/AFP via Getty

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The actor appeared in all eightHarry Pottermovies from 2001 to 2011 as Ron Weasley. The AP reported that he is estimated to have made around £24 million ($30 million) for starring in the franchise.

According to AP, this isn’t the first tax case that Grint has lost to the U.K. government. He also lost a separate court battle over a £1 million tax refund in 2019.

source: people.com