UK: HMRC’s football tax evasion crackdown nets £90m for Treasury

The amount of extra tax reclaimed by HM Revenue & Customs from Britain’s professional football industry is growing rapidly, data shows.

HMRC’s tax crackdown on professional football has intensified, with £90million in extra tax recovered from clubs, players and agents in the last year, according to analysis from accountancy firm UHY Hacker Young.

The sum recovered by HMRC in the year to 31 March 2025 via the professional football sector was a third higher than the £67.5million raked in the previous year.

HMRC opened investigations into 12 football clubs, 90 players and 16 agents over the year.

Elliott Buss, a partner at UHY Hacker Young, said: ‘The football industry continues to be seen by HMRC as a major source of unpaid tax.

‘A £22.5million increase in just one year shows how aggressively HMRC is pursuing both new and long-standing areas of concern.

‘Clubs, players and agents need to be extremely careful with how they structure payments or risk coming under the spotlight.’

He added: ‘The incomes of football clubs and players wages continue to rise at a sharp rate but HMRC is concerned that there is too much tax evasion and avoidance in the sector and that the Government is not getting its fair share in tax revenues.’

According to the accountancy firm, one of the key areas HMRC is scrutinising is the use of research and development tax breaks by football clubs. In some cases, clubs have sought to write off costs against various projects.

Certain football clubs have, according to the findings, made tax claims in connection to R&D they have undertaken into performance analytics, training techniques and sports science. HMRC is investigating football clubs it believes may be pushing the boundaries of what qualifies for this tax relief.

The controversial fees demanded by football agents are also under the spotlight.

HMRC has introduced new guidelines aimed at tackling tax evasion through so-called ‘dual-representation contracts’.

In such contracts, an agent is claimed to work for both the club and the player in a transfer, with the fee split fifty-fifty between the two.

Part of the boost in revenue for HMRC has also been driven by ex-professionals being held liable for unpaid tax from historic investment schemes.

UHY Hacker Young, which undertook a freedom of information request, said: ‘HMRC has said it will no longer accept this as a standard approach.

‘From now on, if a club claims that an agent also represented them, it must provide evidence to prove it. If it cannot, the full fee will be deemed to have been paid by the player, and income tax will be due.’

Buss added: ‘Clubs cannot afford to take a passive approach to tax compliance. HMRC’s current crackdown shows that everything from R&D claims to agent fees is under the microscope.

‘It’s crucial that clubs have robust advice in place and that they also guide younger players, many of whom have little experience with the tax system, to avoid costly mistakes.’

In September 2024, Newcastle United coughed up £10million to settle a long-running tax battle with HMRC.