King Charles has become the first reigning monarch to publicly disclose his tax payments, revealing he paid £12.9 million for the 2024-25 tax year. This voluntary disclosure follows a similar move by his son, Prince William, who paid £8.34 million in tax for the 2023-24 period. The combined tax bills for father and son since William became Prince of Wales have exceeded £50 million.
Buckingham Palace stated that the decision to publish these figures was made by both King Charles and Prince William as a personal choice aimed at increasing transparency and fostering a wider understanding of their financial accountability. The new figures do not provide a detailed breakdown of how the tax liabilities were calculated.
The King's income is partly derived from the Duchy of Lancaster, an estate established to provide the monarch with independent funds for official and private expenses. This portfolio includes land, investments, and properties, yielding an annual income of £25.2 million for the 2025-26 period. Additional taxable income sources include the King's personal investments, savings, and revenue from his private estates at Balmoral and Sandringham.
Initially, Prince William did not release his tax payments upon becoming heir. However, mirroring his father's approach, he has now made his income and capital gains tax payments public. Prince William receives an income from the Duchy of Cornwall, a large hereditary estate, which finances his official duties, his office, and his private family life. His private secretary, Ian Patrick, noted that the prince pays income tax at the highest rate on any net surplus after audited costs are met, emphasizing the importance of appropriate transparency.
Prince William has also announced that he will no longer personally benefit from the £1.5 million annual rent generated by the now-abandoned Dartmoor Prison. He has requested that this sum be removed from the Duchy of Cornwall's income, with the funds redirected to support the local community, particularly in the rural area of Princetown. Dartmoor Prison has been vacant since 2024 due to the detection of high levels of the toxic gas radon within the building.
The annual royal accounts also detailed recent travel expenses. The most costly overseas visit was Prince William's three-day trip to Saudi Arabia in February, which incurred costs of just over £130,000. This was closely followed by the King and Queen's four-day state visit to Italy in April 2025, costing £126,946. The King's journey by royal train to Lancaster in June 2025 cost £48,460; the train is scheduled to be retired by 2027 to reduce expenses. Over the past year, the Royal Family undertook 177 helicopter journeys, totaling £733,063 in costs.