HMRC Debt Collection Spending Involved £5.2m A Month As TDX Group Doubles Profits
Taxpayer reliance on private debt collectors is at an all-time high, with HMRC spending more than £5.2m in a single month with its main bailout partner, a sum critics warn is being siphoned off from struggling small businesses.
The Parliament Street think tank’s analysis of HMRC’s disclosures shows that the department paid TDX Group £5,289,528.65 in February 2026, the company’s debt recovery and debt management arm. That marks a jump of just over £2m on January’s payment of £3,236,829.26, and is less than the £4,070,045.89 spent in December.
The boost comes as Chancellor Rachel Reeves relies heavily on tax reform to plug the gap in the Treasury, and wage growth across the wider economy continues to fade.
For TDX Group, increased government orders have translated into a healthy recovery. The company’s recently filed accounts at Companies House show revenue rose from £63.2m to £79.7m over the past two financial years, with operating profit doubling from £3.7m to £7.5m over the same period.
That trajectory is unlikely to reverse anytime soon. In the 2024 Autumn Budget, the Chancellor confirmed that an extra 5,000 HMRC compliance officers will be put in place between 2029-30, a recruitment drive the Treasury expects to deliver around £7.5bn a year in additional revenue once fully operational. Another 500 police officers were rubber-stamped in the Spring Statement 2025, with recruitment beginning in the 2025-26 financial year.
For small companies, already struggling with employer National Insurance increases, stubborn borrowing costs and soft consumer demand, the strong pursuit of credit appears to be intensifying.
Kenny MacAulay, the chief executive of accounting software platform Acting Office, said the figures will come badly as owner-managed businesses are already on the ropes. “These figures will rub salt in the wounds of struggling businesses that are forced to pay higher taxes, operating costs and rising interest rates,” he said. “As they face huge costs, companies will look to use AI and technology to reduce costs and balance books.”
Patrick Sullivan, chief executive of the Parliament Street think tank, pointed as much. “It is a myth that the Chancellor’s debt collectors are earning millions while hard working taxpayers are struggling to make ends meet,” he said. “It’s time to re-evaluate government spending, stop the millionaire debt collectors who get rich by preying on working people.”
TDX Group declined to comment on the details of its plans, citing the confidentiality of its contractual relationships.
A spokesman for HMRC defended the department’s approach, stressing that enforcement is a last resort. “Most customers meet their tax obligations, with 90 percent paying in full and on time,” he said. “We take a supportive approach to dealing with customers with tax debts and do everything we can to help those who work with us get out of debt, including offering installment plans.”
For SME owners who reckon the squeeze will ease any time soon, the commute from Whitehall suggests otherwise. As thousands of compliance officers arrive for the fast-growing foreign tax collection task, the costs, both financial and reputational, of falling behind on tax payments are growing rapidly.
