England squad makes an average of £5.98m a year

England’s World Cup squad earn an average of £5.98m a year – Here’s what they pay in tax

The World Cup kicks off in Qatar this weekend and research by RIFT Tax Refunds has revealed that the England squad may want to make their stay a permanent one, with the average tax paid by an England footballer sitting at £2.874m per year, a significant sum they could save residing abroad within the tax-free nation.

RIFT Tax Refunds analysed the total sum of tax paid in income tax and national insurance by the current England squad, revealing who pays the most to HMRC on their top flight wages.

The research shows that the average England footballer takes home an estimated £5.98m per year.

However, this gross annual income is subject to tax like the rest of us and, excluding any creative tax saving measures, would see the average England footballer pay almost £2,676m in income tax and £197,711 in National Insurance per year – a total of £2.874m paid on an annual basis.

When it comes to the stand out squad member in the eyes of HMRC, Raheem Sterling tops the table. With an estimated annual salary of £16.9m per year, he earns the most of all players in England’s 2022 World Cup squad, paying £8.143m in tax per year.

Jack Grealish isn’t far behind, paying a total of £7.515m in tax per year on his £15.6m salary, with John Stones (£6.261m) the only other squad members to foot a tax bill in excess of six million per year.

In contrast, Jude Bellingham takes home just £1.36m a year, paying out the lowest rate of tax in Germany at £635,997, although if he was paying tax to HMRC, this would climb slightly to £741,021.

CEO of RIFT Tax Refunds, Bradley Post, commented:

“Whether you see your tax deductions on your monthly pay slip, or annually on your tax return, we can’t help but wince at the sums we pay HMRC, but paying our taxes is just part and parcel of life and they make valuable contributions to the society we live in.

However, England’s World Cup squad could be forgiven for pondering a permanent life in Qatar when you consider the huge sums they pay in tax and the money they could save.

Of course, those earning the very top dollar in any area of life will always have help from the most creative of accountants to ensure they streamline their tax affairs to the greatest extent possible, but even still, their annual tax bills are sure to eclipse that paid by the average person by quite some margin.”