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Tax Solutions Sports Professionals
The GTN Sports Tax Team provides UK and international tax advice to professional footballers and other sports professionals in association with our global network of partner firms.
Whether you are just starting your professional career or are an established international footballer, athlete, or sports professional, our highly skilled and experienced team is here to handle all your tax-related needs. From compliance to planning, we have the expertise to help. Join our network of satisfied clients who have benefited from our comprehensive tax services across all major sports leagues.
Learn more about our Tax Services for Sports Professionals by clicking the links below.
To find out how we can help you or to arrange a free initial consultation, please contact Richard Watts-Joyce or Rob Derienzo on 0207 100 2126 or complete our contact form.
Specialised Tax Services Tailored to Professional
Our clients include domestic sports professionals and those moving to or from the UK on short-term or permanent contracts or playing temporarily during exhibition tours and events. We have assisted a diverse range of sports professionals and represent several Premier League and EFL footballers, clubs, owners and agents, as well as those competing in tennis, basketball, golf, cycling, motorsports and esports.
Our Tax Services for Sports Professionals and Athletes cover a broad range of essential elements, and we provide customised tax solutions to meet your specific needs, including:
Fixed Fees
GTN Sports believes in transparent pricing. We work on a fixed-fee basis, bespoke to each client, and everything is agreed upon in advance, so there are no surprises along the way. Whether filing an annual tax return or providing ongoing tax planning services, our fixed fees ensure clarity and peace of mind. By choosing GTN Sports as your trusted tax advisor, you can rest assured that your tax matters are in capable hands, allowing you to focus on what you do best – competing in the sport you love.
What Other Tax Services Do We Offer?
In addition to our core services, GTN Sports provides a wide range of tax services tailored to the unique needs of professional athletes and footballers, including, but not limited to:
HMRC Investigations and Fee Protection
We regularly handle tax investigations from HMRC, including Employer Compliance Reviews for clubs and enquiries into Self-Assessment tax matters for players. Our team can review new and ongoing tax audits and provide pre-audit health checks to minimise the risk of potential fines for non-compliance.
Sports professionals frequently face audits from HMRC, and we are pleased to offer our Fee Protection Arrangements within our fee proposals, covering any costs we incur of up to £100,000 when dealing with an HMRC audit. This added protection can be highly beneficial as HMRC audits often take 1-2 years to fully close.
If you have any income from prior years that has yet to be declared, we can assist with full disclosure and mitigation of penalties, helping bring everything up to date.
Retirement Planning.
It is also important to plan for retirement since many professional sports persons may end their careers at a younger age than most. We provide planning options, both within and outside of the UK and can assist with pension, estate planning and drafting of wills via our legal partners. This includes specialist pension structures that are fully portable when moving internationally during a career.
Investment Companies.
Our clients often have significant investments in other assets and can benefit from expatriate concessions, such as the UK “non-domicile” status. Through the GTN network, we can provide legal and tax advice for such investments and handle any investment companies’ accounting and tax returns. Our FCA-regulated wealth management partners can advise on specific investments and pensions, whether UK-based or offshore, in full cooperation with our global tax planning services.
International Scouts/Remote Workers.
Many football clubs are unaware of the complex legal and compliance requirements when hiring international scouts or other remote employees. We have specialist experience in this area and are assisting several Premier League football clubs with their global tax and social security requirements in this area.
In most cases, tax is payable in the country of residence rather than the UK. Often, the club must be registered for tax overseas, and employer social security needs to be paid. Scouts are typically placed on UK contracts. However, these often need to comply with legislation in the country where the scout resides. We can assist with reviewing and implementing all global tax, social security, withholding, and legal requirements to ensure that clubs remain fully compliant as their scouting networks expand internationally.
Exhibition Tours and Appearances.
The UK tax authorities will seek to tax the proportion of both earnings and endorsement income relating to performances in the UK. The club, agent or promoter will withhold tax, and the individual will receive a form known as an FEU2 showing details of the tax deducted in the UK. Not all visiting professional sports players must file tax returns if the tax withheld is sufficient to cover the final liability. If a return is required, then it is necessary to report a “fair proportion” of earnings from worldwide activities for time spent in the UK, including endorsement or sponsorship income. This is usually based on the proportion of “relevant performance and training days” related to the UK.
Player Care Financial Education.
Together with our partner firms, we can offer player care financial education training designed for academy to first-team men’s and women’s professional footballers. Our programme helps players understand the tax system, how to deal with HMRC, what expenses can be claimed and what needs to be filed. Please get in touch with us for more information.
Tax Residency and Planning.
For permanent moves to or from the UK, we provide a complete analysis of tax residence in the early planning stages. In certain locations, an individual may move to a new country part way through the tax year (for example, at the start of a new season) but may become a tax resident obliged to pay taxes for the entire year. It is, therefore, essential to consider the best time to arrive in a certain country and the appropriate dates for the signature of new contracts and the signature of termination contracts. In many cases, an individual may reside in more than one country at the same time, which requires careful analysis of the relevant double tax agreements in place.
Significant tax savings are available through the HMRC approved “non domicile” status to protect overseas investment income and assets from UK tax and Overseas Workday Relief for exemption of earnings relating to matches/competitions outside of the UK. We have significant expertise advising clients in this area.
The services above are just an overview of the comprehensive range of tax solutions we can provide. By choosing GTN Sports as your tax partner, you gain access to a team of skilled industry experts committed to reducing your tax liabilities, providing you with financial security and peace of mind.
Getting Started with GTN Sports
Experience the advantage of working with a team of highly skilled tax professionals who understand the unique needs of professional athletes and footballers. Partner with GTN Sports and gain peace of mind knowing that your tax affairs are in capable hands.
To find out how we can help you or to arrange a free initial consultation, please contact Richard Watts-Joyce or Rob Derienzo
Co-founder & Managing Partner
Richard Watts-Joyce
Email:richard@gtnsports.uk
Qualification:CTA, AAT
Richard is a founder and Managing Partner of GTN, assisting high net-worth individuals, professional sportspersons, and entertainers with both domestic and international tax planning and compliance.
With an impressive career spanning over 25 years, Richard has established himself as a leading authority in international tax consulting. His clients include professionals from various sports, ranging from football, tennis, motorsport, rugby, cycling, to NBA and NFL. Richard collaborates closely with players, families, agents, as well as a trusted network of wealth managers and lawyers, providing tailored and proactive solutions for domestic players while also possessing a unique expertise in international transfers. In addition to working with athletes, Richard assists several premier league and EFL clubs, looking after the tax issues of their senior executives, directors, international scouts, and remote workers, whilst providing financial education training for academy, U21, and professional players in both men’s and women’s football.
Richard’s influence extends beyond GTN, as a joint founder of the WTS Sports Group, a global network of international tax advisers specialising in the taxation of professional sportspersons relocating or competing internationally. Additionally, he serves as the EMEA Regional Lead of the Mobile Workforce Collaborative, significantly expanding GTN‘s service coverage to over 100 countries.
Richard’s background includes a BSc Honours Degree from the London School of Economics and membership of both leading professional tax bodies in the UK, the Association of Taxation Technicians and Chartered Institute of Taxation.
Tax Manager
Rob Derienzo
Email:rob@gtnspots.uk
Qualification:ATT
Rob is a private client tax manager and co-lead of the GTN Sports and Entertainment Tax Team. Rob has extensive experience in international tax planning and compliance for actors, producers, visual effects designers and models in the entertainment sector and has worked with many well-known artists helping to navigate the complexities of their global tax needs.
Rob also looks after our sports clients and has assisted a number of premier league and EFL footballers with tax compliance, tax return preparation and tax relief claims as well as planning in connection with agent fees and image rights. In addition to domestic leagues, Rob has also assisted players transferring to or from the UK, working with our partner firms to create bespoke global tax mitigation strategies.
Rob also assists clubs with global mobility tax issues including tax and social security compliance requirements for international scouts and non-resident directors. As part of our financial education program, Rob also provides valuable advice to academy and younger players helping them understand their basic tax requirements with HMRC, how wages and investments are taxed and how to identify and choose regulated advisers in financial planning and accounting.