Wise Reported Seeking HMRC Settlement Over Tax Errors
Errors in a third-party provider's software left about 4,000 Wise investment customers with wrong tax figures. Wise is reported to be negotiating with HMRC.
Wise is reported to be negotiating a bulk settlement with HMRC after errors in third-party software miscalculated tax figures on investments held by about 4,000 UK customers between 2021 and 2025. The case shows that outsourced tax calculation remains a liability the platform, not the vendor, carries toward customers and the tax authority.
The Ledger Desk · 3 min read- FStech, on 9 October 2026, reported that Wise is negotiating a settlement with HMRC over incorrect tax figures affecting about 4,000 UK investment customers.
- The errors are credited to software used by a third-party provider and cover 2021 to 2025, according to a Wise statement to the Financial Times as relayed by FStech.
- Per the same report, Wise says it fixed the issue, issued corrected statements and offered to compensate customers who overpaid tax.
- A letter seen by the Financial Times is reported to offer a bulk settlement for tax shortfalls; no settlement terms, liability figure or HMRC confirmation appeared in the reports.
- Platforms that offer investment products stay accountable for any vendor that computes customer tax figures.
Wise is reported to be negotiating a settlement with HMRC after errors in a third-party provider's software produced wrong tax figures for about 4,000 UK investment customers, according to FStech's report of 9 October 2026. The episode is small by deal-size standards, but it shows where the risk sits when a payments platform adds investment products: with the platform, whichever vendor runs the numbers.
What went wrong
FStech reports that third-party software miscalculated capital gains and income tax figures on stock and fund investments held by about 4,000 UK Wise customers, across 2021 to 2025. The report attributes the cause to what Wise described, in a statement to the Financial Times, as errors in software used by a third-party provider. Wise says it has fixed the issue and issued corrected statements to affected customers.
Why a bulk settlement matters
FStech reports that, in a letter seen by the Financial Times, Wise offered HMRC a bulk settlement to cover shortfalls in tax paid by clients. A bulk route would let the firm address potential underpayments in aggregate rather than leaving thousands of customers to amend returns one by one. The reports give no settlement terms, no liability figure and no HMRC response, so the size of the exposure is unknown.
Costs run in both directions
FStech reports that Wise has also offered to compensate customers who overpaid tax. The remediation therefore has two cost lines: money owed to HMRC for any underpayment, and refunds to customers who paid too much. Neither amount has been published. The same report quotes Wise as saying it is working to address potential liabilities and that there is no ongoing risk to customers.
What to watch next
Three items would move this from reported to confirmed: the final terms agreed with HMRC, the number of customers who actually paid the wrong amount, and a Wise or HMRC statement on the total cost. None appeared in the reports reviewed. Until they do, the story rests on press accounts of a letter and a company statement rather than on a published regulatory or company document.
For fintechs offering investment products, the practical lesson is to treat any vendor that produces customer tax figures as a controlled dependency: reconcile its output against an independent calculation, and retain the data needed to re-issue statements at scale. A software fault that runs unnoticed for several years becomes a remediation across thousands of customers.
- What went wrong at Wise?
- FStech reports that errors in software used by a third-party provider miscalculated capital gains and income tax figures on stock and fund investments for about 4,000 UK customers, covering 2021 to 2025.
- Has a settlement with HMRC been agreed?
- Not according to the reports. FStech says Wise is negotiating a settlement, and that a letter seen by the Financial Times offered a bulk settlement to cover shortfalls. No final terms or liability figure were given.
- What has Wise said it is doing for customers?
- Per FStech's account of Wise's statement, Wise has fixed the issue, issued corrected statements to affected customers, is working to address potential liabilities and has offered to compensate customers who overpaid tax.