Harry Potter star Rupert Grint has lost a legal battle in which he attempted to appeal to win a €1 million income tax refund.

Grint, who plays Ron Weasely in the much loved Harry Potter franchise, has been ordered by a tax tribunal judge to pay €1 million after rejecting his appeal against an HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) block, regarding a change in accounting dates to avoid the high tax rate of 50%, introduced in 2010-2012.

His accounts had attempted to move 8 months of income into 2009-2010 tax year, when the highest tax rate was 40%. Tax authorities state that Rupert Grint had the right to change his account date, but denied he had actually done so. The judge ruled that the actor had failed to meet the conditions on which the law would recognize a valid change in accounting details, rejecting his appeal.