Eamonn Holmes could be dealt £250,000 bill after losing HMRC tax case

25 February 2020, 07:41

By Alice Dear

This Morning's Eamonn Holmes has lost a case over how he is paid by ITV, and could now face a hefty bill.

Eamonn Holmes, 60, reportedly owes £250,000 in taxes – on top of payments he has already made – after losing HMRC tax case this week.

The This Morning host, and husband of Ruth Langsford, lost a case over how he is paid by ITV.

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According to The Sun, Eamonn Holmes told them that he was a "freelancer" and is paid through his own limited company.

Eamonn has denied deceiving the taxman, but sources have now revealed he could be facing a bill of £250,000 after losing a legal case.

A spokesperson for the TV personality said that he "has always considered himself a self-employed freelancer and has never knowingly avoided paying taxes".

They added that he was "seeking to comprehend what this means" and wished for "clarity and consistency across the guidelines" so others do not "suffer the same confusion" over the rules.

This saga started back in 2018, when Eamonn Holmes was "chased for unpaid taxes", reports The Sun.

At the time, he said: "I was in a court in central London for a week in June. I've been freelance for 28 years and that's been okay.

"Now they've said it's not okay. They have reinvented the rules in the past couple of years.

"There is nobody more freelance than me, but they are trying to prove our jobs are regular and guaranteed. They could go at any moment."

Around the same time, HMRC were said to also be looking at BBC celebrity employees as well.

HMRC ruled that presenters are "employees" and therefore still have to pay income tax and national insurance fees.

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