Harry Potter star Rupert Grint slammed with $2.3 million tax bill after legal dispute

Rupert Grint faces $2.3 million tax bill after losing a legal dispute with UK tax authorities regarding his 2011-12 returns.

Rupert Grint, best known for portraying Ron Weasley in the Harry Potter series, is facing a significant financial setback. The actor has been hit with a tax bill exceeding $2.3 million after losing a legal dispute with the UK tax authorities, HM Revenue and Customs. 

The Harry Potter star, Rupert Grint's legal battle with HM Revenue and Customs results in a hefty tax bill for 2011-12 earnings. (Photo by Vianney Le Caer/Invision/AP, File)(Vianney Le Caer/Invision/AP)

Grunt hit with $2.3 million tax bill

In 2019, the UK tax office (HMRC) investigated the actor’s 2011-12 returns and ordered Grint to pay over $2.3 million in taxes. He had earned $5.8 million (£4.5 million) from a company managing his business, which he said should be taxed as a long-term investment (capital gains). However, the tax officials argued that the money was income and not a capital gain, so they demanded an additional $2.3 million in tax.
The Harry Potter actor’s attorneys tried to challenge this ruling at the First-Tier Tribunal hearing in London, however, the judge ruled against him. Judge Harriet Morgan declared that the cash “is taxable as income" as it “derived substantially the whole of its value from the activities of Grint" and was “otherwise realized” as income for that tax year, as reported by The Mirror.

Grint, who began his acting career as a teenager in Harry Potter in 2001, is said to have earned around $29 million for playing Ron Weasley. However, despite his success, he has faced legal troubles. In 2019, he lost a legal case over a $1.2 million tax refund. 

Harry Potter days were ‘suffocating’ and heavy going’ for Grint 

In 2021, on Dax Shephard’s Armchair Expert, Grint revealed that filming the fan-favourite series was “suffocating” at times. He said on the show, “There was a time where it felt quite suffocating. Because it was heavy going, because it was every day for, I think, 10 years in the end. … Sometimes, it definitely felt like, ‘I want to do something else. I want to see what else is out there,’" as reported by Fox Business. 

He continued, “It never ended. Every year we came back. It was kind of like Groundhog Day. The same sets, the same people.” Grunt added, “I was obsessed with that character. So, for me, it was all about being Ron. I didn’t really see a career after it was done. I didn’t see that far ahead."