{"id":4033,"date":"2026-07-23T11:10:49","date_gmt":"2026-07-23T11:10:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/crosscountrymovingteams.com\/?p=4033"},"modified":"2026-07-23T11:10:49","modified_gmt":"2026-07-23T11:10:49","slug":"spain-lifted-the-world-cup-but-the-irs-still-gets-a-cut-of-its-50-million-pay-day-as-players-coaches-and-refs-all-face-complex-u-s-jock-taxes","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/crosscountrymovingteams.com\/?p=4033","title":{"rendered":"Spain lifted the World Cup, but the IRS still gets a cut of its $50 million pay day as players, coaches and refs all face complex U.S. \u201cjock taxes\u201d"},"content":{"rendered":"<div>\n<p>It doesn\u2019t stop there: the Spanish players will also have tax implications back home. According to RCM Legal, 17 of the 26 Spanish national players will be obligated to pay taxes to the European nation.<\/p>\n<p>Read more <a href=\"https:\/\/crosscountrymovingteams.com\/?p=4031\">Top CD rates from major banks on July 23, 2026: Chase CDs, Bank of America CDs, Citibank CDs, and more<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u201cThose who are tax residents in Spain are taxed on their worldwide income,\u201d RCM Legal said in a report. \u201cThis is the situation for international players who play for Spanish clubs, such as Lamine Yamal, a footballer for FC Barcelona.\u201d<\/p>\n<div>\n<div>\n<div><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>Colloquially named \u201cjock tax,\u201d athletes performing services inside the United States are generally subject to U.S. taxation on income earned for those services, even if they are non-residents. Artists and actors are also applicable to these tax implications.<\/p>\n<p>For its part,\u00a0 FIFA has regularly secured tax exemptions from its host nations since 2010, the year the Spanish National Team last hoisted the illustrious World Cup trophy. Since then, South Africa, Brazil, Russia and Qatar had all granted tax relief covering FIFA and the teams tax implications.<\/p>\n<p>The US, however, does not appear to be following the same footsteps. The IRS\u2019 tax playbook for the 2026 FIFA World Cup outlines that international athletes are subject to federal income tax \u201cconnected to services performed in the United States.\u201d<\/p>\n<h2>Tax treaties alleviate athlete tax bills<\/h2>\n<p>This comes following a joint agreement between the IRS, the Canada Revenue Agency, and Mexico\u2019s Servicio de Administraci\u00f3n Tributaria (SAT) to find a reasonable method for allocating FIFA World Cup compensation and the tax withholdings. The consensus found that tax compensation would be calculated based on the number of matches played in each host country compared to the number of the team\u2019s total matches.<\/p>\n<div>\n<div><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>\u201cThe United States is not taking a double-dip here,\u201d Richard Konigsberg, national lead partner of entertainment and media at EisnerAmper, told Fortune. \u201cThis is really about which country gets the tax.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The distinction matters because Spain, like dozens of other countries, has a bilateral tax treaty with the United States specifically designed to prevent double taxation. Without these treaties, athletes could theoretically owe full tax bills in both countries.\u00a0<\/p>\n<div>\n<div>\n<div><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>Instead, Konigsberg said the treaties largely eliminate that outcome.<\/p>\n<div>\n<div><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>\u201cIf you have a Spanish resident that earned income in the US,\u201d he said, \u201cyour home country may give you a credit for the US tax paid.\u201d<\/p>\n<div>\n<div><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div>\n<div><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>That does not necessarily mean the athlete pays whichever country\u2019s taxes come first.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cUltimately, you end up paying the higher of the two countries\u2019 tax,\u201d Konigsberg said.<\/p>\n<p>Read more <a href=\"https:\/\/crosscountrymovingteams.com\/?p=4029\">Nearly 1,000 people dead from Ebola outbreak in Congo amid health worker strike<\/a><\/p>\n<p>According to a note by Andrew Wilford, the Director of State Policy at the National Taxpayers Union Foundation, he calculates that the Spanish National team would be subject to an average all-in tax rate of 31.66%, with a base camp all-in tax rate of 30%.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>The report, \u201cWhich World Cup Team Got the Worst Group Stage (Tax) Draw?\u201d, published in June, did not calculate Spain\u2019s final tax rate following the conclusion of the tournament.<\/p>\n<div>\n<div>\n<div><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div>\n<div><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>Federal taxes are not the only concern for the Spanish athletes, however. Due to the locations of the World Cup matches, the players may also be susceptible to domestic state tax.<\/p>\n<h2>A tax liability<\/h2>\n<p>Spain played matches in Georgia, California, Texas and New Jersey throughout the World Cup tournament, meaning the team also has to foot the bill of each of the state taxes that come with it.<\/p>\n<p>Those state obligations can materially increase an athlete\u2019s overall tax responsibility, Konigsberg mentioned.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhen you add in New Jersey or California on top of that, it could approach anywhere from 36% to 41%,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<div>\n<div><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>The prize money itself is distributed to the RFEF (Royal Spanish Football Federation), who then distributes it to the players. According to the agreement between the RFEF and the players, 45% of the winnings will be distributed among the athletes as a bonus. These bonuses are generally not viewed differently than ordinary income compensation in the eyes of the tax law.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAny bonus is just an additional form of compensation,\u201d Konigsberg said. That means the payments are generally allocated according to where the services, or in this case, matches were played.<\/p>\n<div>\n<div>\n<div><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>However, exactly how FIFA distributes prize money remains less clear. Konigsberg cautioned that neither FIFA\u2019s contractual arrangements with national federations nor Spain\u2019s agreements with its players are fully transparent.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNo one sitting here knows what\u2019s in the FIFA agreements with their players as to how they get paid,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<p>Read more <a href=\"https:\/\/crosscountrymovingteams.com\/?p=4027\">The Top Fitness and Wellness Gifts (2026): For the Busy Gym-Goer in Your Life<\/a><\/p>\n<div>\n<div><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Spain may have won the 2026 FIFA World Cup, but for many players the celebration comes with an unexpected opponent.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":4032,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4033","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-world-cup"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.7 - 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