The 2026 FIFA World Cup final featured Argentina and Spain, but someone else was the real winner. Spain and Argentina made some big money by getting to the final, but Spain just took a major blow because the IRS decided it wanted a cut.

“IRS to take a cut of Spain’s $50 million World Cup prize through taxes on tournament income earned in the U.S,” reported Polymarket.

Spain climbed soccer’s highest mountain after beating Argentina 1-0 in extra time to win the 2026 FIFA World Cup. And for that win, FIFA rewarded Spain with a record $50 million. Argentina, being the runners got $33 million, and England got $29 million for finishing third. 

It looked like the efforts that Spain had put into winning the World Cup were getting their reward, but the IRS had to jump in on the celebration. 

Since the World Cup was co-hosted by the United States, part of that money could fall under IRS rules. Money earned from the games on American soil is generally considered taxable under the law. So, the US is going to tax every non-American team that played a game there.

But Spain has taken the worst hit because there are reports suggesting that the World Champions could get taxed around $44 million. But with the treaty relief in place, we could see that number go down. 

This same rule could also go beyond the teams and go to players, coaches, referees, medical staff and support workers who earned money during the World Cup. But not all players will face the same tax bill. Players’ earnings come through salaries, bonuses, sponsorships and commercial appearances.

This means that even though players share the same dressing room, their tax bills will look very different. And that is why the World Cup tax is one of the most complicated taxes. With the World Cup spread across 3 countries this time and each player coming from a different nation, things get even messier. 

But before the World Cup began, the IRS worked with Canada and Mexico to decide how World Cup income would be divided.  

The officials had also released guidelines and rules explaining how the tax works and how the forms and other stuff work in the USA.  

But for fans, this is something that is very new because FIFA has always found a way around this.  Since the 2010 World Cup, FIFA has regularly secured broad tax exemptions from host nations.  

South Africa, Brazil, Russia and Qatar all granted tax relief covering FIFA and the teams involved. The 2026 World Cup has been different for many reasons, and we can now add another reason to that list.