UK authorities say Rupert Grint marked residuals from movies as a capital asset rather than income. -AP
Former Harry Potter film actor Rupert Grint faces a hefty tax bill after losing a legal battle with UK authorities.
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Grint, who played Ron Weasley in the magical film franchise, was ordered to pay 1.8 million pounds ($A3.5 million) in 2019 after HM Revenue and Customs, the United Kingdom's tax agency, investigated his tax return from seven years earlier.
The agency said Grint had wrongly classed 4.5 million pounds in residuals from the movies - money from DVD sales, TV syndication, streaming rights and other sources - as a capital asset rather than income, which is subject to a much higher tax rate.
Lawyers for Grint appealed but after years of wrangling a tribunal judge ruled against the actor this week.
Judge Harriet Morgan said the money "derived substantially the whole of its value from the activities of Mr Grint" and "is taxable as income".
Grint, 36, starred in all eight Harry Potter films between 2001 and 2011 as the boy wizard's best friend, and is calculated to have earned about 24 million pounds from the role.
He previously lost a separate court battle over a 1 million pound tax refund in 2019.
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