Budget 2026: Football players warned over looming image rights tax changes

Football clubs and players have been warned of looming changes unveiled in the Budget that will see image rights taxed like wages. Chancellor John Healey’s Budget document, released on Wednesday, stated that “the government will clarify that image rights payments related to an employment are taxable as employment income and taxed in the same way as wages”, adding that “to provide affected sectors with additional time to adjust to this change, the measure will now take effect from 6 April 2028”. These changes were announced under former Chancellor Rachel Reeves but have been delayed for a year. It could see clubs forced to pay additional National Insurance for their players, and is set to impact player income outside of their club wages. Tom Wilson, Head of Sport at HaysMac, said: “Football (and other sports) have been given another year to adapt to changes in the tax treatment of image rights, but this is a delay, not a change in direction. “The big question is where a play