The World Cup transcends borders. The same applies to tax matters.

The FIFA World Cup 2026 is not just the biggest tournament in football history, with 48 national teams playing 104 matches. It’s also a reminder that tax rules follow money, work and people across borders. This year’s tournament, which begins June 11, is played in three countries — the United States, Canada and Mexico — and a long list of host cities, each with its own tax rules. The USA will host 78 games in eleven cities, including the final game.

Why location matters

For a player, coach, referee or other tournament participant, income connected to a match may be derived from the place where the work is performed. Figuring out what this means in practice can get complicated quickly.

Take Kylian Mbappé. He is French, plays his club soccer for Real Madrid and will play France’s group stage games in the United States. A World Cup match in New Jersey, Philadelphia or Boston can raise tax issues in more than one place: the player’s country of residence, the country where he is playing and potentially the US state where the match is played.

Another example is Cristiano Ronaldo. He is Portuguese, plays his club soccer in Saudi Arabia, and Portugal’s group stage matches include stops in Houston and Miami. These matches in the US can raise federal tax issues, even though Texas and Florida do not impose a state individual income tax on wages.

How the Tournament Map works

That last part can be tricky. The 2026 World Cup has 48 teams, divided into 12 groups of four teams: Group A to Group L. Each team plays the other three teams in its group once, so each team gets three group stage matches.

Mbappé, who earned around $95 million last year, putting him at #12 on Forbes’ list of the world’s highest-paid athletes (2026), plays for France, who are in Group I with Senegal, Norway and Iraq. France’s opening match will be against Senegal on June 16, 2026, at the New York/New Jersey Stadium. Despite the name, the New York/New Jersey stadium is MetLife Stadium, located in East Rutherford, New Jersey.

Ronaldo, who earned $300 million last year as the world’s highest-paid athlete, plays for Portugal, who are in Group K with Colombia, DR Congo and Uzbekistan. Portugal’s opening match will be against Colombia on June 17, 2026, at Houston Stadium. Portugal then play Uzbekistan on June 22, 2026 at Guadalajara Stadium and DR Congo on June 27, 2026 at Miami Stadium.

(The United States are in Group D with Paraguay, Turkey and Australia and open their tournament on June 12, 2026, at Los Angeles Stadium.)

In the group stage, teams know their designated cities once the draw is complete. In the knockout rounds, the location changes based on the results. A team that starts in one host country may later be sent to another city, another state, or another country. For tax purposes, this matters because athletes may be taxed where they provide services, not just where they live.

Federal tax comes first

In the US, US citizens and US tax residents are generally subject to federal income tax on worldwide income, regardless of where they live or where the income is earned. This idea may surprise taxpayers from other countries.

But most World Cup players will not be US citizens or US tax residents. For them, the federal issue is different. The issue is not whether the US can tax its entire income. In general, it cannot. The issue is whether the US can tax income connected to work performed in the US Generally, they can.

A non-resident athlete who plays or trains in the US may have US income. This income may be subject to federal tax and withholding even if the athlete lives abroad, plays for a foreign club and leaves the US after the competition.

Thus, a short visit to the US usually will not make a foreign player a US tax resident. However, a match played here may create a US federal tax issue for compensation connected to work performed here. This may include match fees, appearance fees, tournament bonuses, practice days, media obligations, sponsor events and other paid services to the extent they are associated with US matches or US appearances.

Treaties and Double Taxation

Tax conditions can soften the blow. The US has income tax treaties with about 65 countries, but treaty coverage is uneven. Some World Cup countries have agreements with the US. others don’t. And even when a treaty applies, athletes and entertainers often get special treatment. Many treaties allow the country where the performance takes place to tax income earned by athletes or entertainers, even when the individual is a resident of another country.

This does not necessarily mean that the same income is taxed twice. Foreign tax credits are one way that tax systems try to prevent double taxation of the same income. If a player’s home country taxes worldwide income and the U.S. taxes the U.S.-source portion of the player’s World Cup compensation, the player may be able to claim a credit in the country of residence for the tax paid in the U.S. The credit does not eliminate US tax. It helps determine whether the player will be exempt from double taxation.

And, foreign artists and athletes who play or compete in the US may be eligible to participate in a Central Withholding Agreement (CWA) with the IRS. A CWA can reduce upfront withholding by basing required withholding on an IRS-approved estimate of the individual’s U.S. net income, rather than applying the default gross withholding rules. Applications must generally be submitted at least 45 days before the first covered event.

(Still confused? The IRS has a General Fiscal Resources page on its 2026 FIFA World Cup website.)

State taxes can add complexity

Depending on where the match is played, state taxes may also play a role. Los Angeles is different from Miami. Seattle is different from Dallas. New Jersey is different from Kansas City. States with income taxes generally tax residents on their income and nonresidents on income earned from work performed in the state.

Many states have short-term rules for casual workers who come to the state for only a limited number of days, but these rules often do not protect professional athletes. Athletes may be taxed at places where they play, practice, train or perform other required team duties. This is sometimes referred to as a ‘tax tax’.

The jock tax typically applies nonresident income tax rules to highly paid athletes and entertainers, allocating a portion of their income to the states where they work. For athletes, this often means a service day formula: the number of days worked in the state divided by the total days of service for the year or season. The details vary by state and the formulas have been challenged in court, but the basic idea is the same. If the income is earned in the state, the state wants its share.

However, some World Cup host countries will not impose state income tax on visiting footballers for one simple reason: they have no state personal income tax on wages. For 2026, that matters in Florida, Texas and Washington, where the games will be held in Miami, Dallas, Houston and Seattle. (Other states with no income tax—Alaska, Nevada, New Hampshire, South Dakota, Tennessee and Wyoming—are not hosting 2026 World Cup games.)

Local taxes can also matter

Local taxes can further complicate matters, but only in certain US host cities. Although most USA World Cup venues do not impose a separate city income tax on visiting players, there are exceptions in cities such as Philadelphia and Kansas City, where local salary or income taxes may apply to non-residents working in the city. Philadelphia famously (or infamously) imposes a 3.43% payroll tax on non-residents for work performed in Philadelphia. Kansas City, Missouri also has an earnings tax system that applies a 1% tax to non-residents on income earned in the city.

The tax map changes with the schedule

For players, the World Cup schedule is more than just a list of matches. The locations of these matches determine not only where the income is earned, but also which governments have the right to tax it. For Mbappé, a group stage match in New Jersey may raise different questions than a match in Philadelphia. For Ronaldo, a game in Houston might look different than a game in Miami. The result is a tournament where the road to the final could run through different tax systems.

ForbesThe highest paid players in the 2026 World CupWith Brett Knight