[Saba Sports News] According to British media reports, after Spain claimed the World Cup title, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) of the United States will still take a cut of its $50 million prize pool. Players, coaches and officials are all confronted with the complicated U.S. “athlete tax”. Spain defeated Argentina in the 2026 World Cup final to secure the $50 million prize money offered by FIFA, yet part of the payout may ultimately end up in Washington. This is because many players, coaching staff and match officials earned income during the tournament, which may subject them to U.S. tax liabilities. Furthermore, Spain’s footballers will also face tax obligations upon returning home. It is reported that 17 out of the 26 Spain national team players are required to pay taxes in Spain. Since 2010, FIFA has normally secured tax exemptions from host nations. However, the United States declined to grant such an exemption this time. The IRS explicitly mandates that international athletes pay taxes on income generated within the United States. Earlier, the IRS, Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) and Mexico’s Tax Administration Service (SAT) reached a joint agreement aimed at establishing a fair mechanism to allocate World Cup compensation funds and withholding taxes. The parties agreed that taxes will be calculated based on the proportion of each team’s matches held in each host country relative to their total number of fixtures.
This does not amount to double taxation by the United States. Fundamentally, the issue boils down to which country holds the taxing rights over the money. If you are a resident of Spain and earn income in the United States, your home country may offer a tax credit for taxes already paid to the US authorities.