01
Club and contract income
Salary, signing-on fees, loyalty and appearance payments, promotion and goal bonuses, and any club benefits reported on your P11D.
Self Assessment for footballers
filed properly, claimed in full.
Club payroll rarely tells the whole story. We pull your contract income, bonuses, sponsorship and expenses into one accurate return and file it well before 31 January.
Why players file
Being on a club payroll doesn't mean HMRC is finished with you.
Most professional and semi-professional footballers have income that PAYE never sees. Signing-on fees, appearance and goal bonuses, boot deals, sponsored posts, appearance fees, prize money, coaching on the side and anything paid through your own company all sit outside the club's payroll. HMRC expects that to be reported through Self Assessment each year.
The other half of the picture is what you're owed back, and it's where most bad advice lives. Against employment income the test is strict: the cost has to be wholly, exclusively and necessarily incurred in doing the job, and travelling from home to your regular training ground is commuting rather than a claim. PFA and approved league subscriptions, unreimbursed travel to trials and temporary venues, and some equipment can qualify. Where you also have self-employed coaching, appearance or commercial income, the rules are wider and kit, travel, media costs and professional fees are usually deductible against it.
Agent fees deserve their own mention. Where the agent acts for both you and the club, the fee is split under a dual representation agreement and the club's share is a taxable benefit on you, not a deduction. Getting that split evidenced and reported correctly is one of the things HMRC looks at hardest in football.
We prepare and file the return end to end, tell you exactly what to set aside and when, and keep the paperwork in a shape that stands up if HMRC ever asks.
Get your return startedEvery income stream
Contract pay, bonuses, image rights, sponsorship, appearance fees and side income handled in one coherent return.
Costs tested properly
Kit, travel, physio, subscriptions and professional fees checked against the right rules for employment, self-employment or company income.
Filed before January
We work to a pre-season timetable, not a deadline scramble, so late-filing penalties and interest never enter the picture.
No surprise bills
You get the number you owe and the date it's due months in advance, including payments on account for the year ahead.
What we handle
The return, and everything that feeds into it.
02
Image rights and sponsorship
Boot deals, brand partnerships, paid social, appearance fees and prize money, treated correctly depending on whether they're paid to you or a company.
03
Travel and mileage
Trials, temporary venues, treatment appointments and journeys tied to coaching or commercial work, at approved rates with records that hold up. Your normal run to the training ground is commuting, and we'll tell you so.
04
Kit, physio, subs and agent fees
Boots, studs and training kit, private physio and conditioning, PFA and approved league subs, coaching badges, plus dual representation agent fees reported the way HMRC expects.
05
HMRC registration and letters
Getting you registered, sorting your UTR, and answering HMRC correspondence so you're not decoding brown envelopes between sessions.
Not sure if you need to file?
Tell us how you're paid and what you've earned outside the club. We'll confirm whether a return is due and what it would cost.
Ask usWhy Calibra Sports
A short career deserves better than a generic tax return.
We know the game
From academy scholars to Football League professionals, we understand how football contracts, bonuses and agent arrangements actually work.
Claims that stand up
We only claim what's genuinely allowable, backed by records, so a refund today doesn't become an enquiry in two years.
Around your season
We work to your fixture list. Information gathering in the quiet weeks, filing long before the January deadline.
Discreet and fixed fee
Your affairs stay private, and you know the fee before we start. No hourly surprises, no percentage of your refund.
How it works
Four steps, no drama.
From first call to filed return, we keep the admin off your plate and the deadlines off your mind.
- Step 01
Contract review
We look at how you're paid, what the club covers, and what income sits outside PAYE, so we know exactly what the return needs to capture.
- Step 02
Records and receipts
A simple checklist covering payslips, P60, P11D, sponsorship invoices, mileage and expenses. Photos of receipts are fine.
- Step 03
Prepare and review
We build the return, apply every claim that stacks up, and walk you through the numbers in plain English before anything is submitted.
- Step 04
File and plan
We file with HMRC, confirm what to set aside and when, and flag the planning points to pick up before the next tax year.
FAQ
Self Assessment questions footballers ask
Calibra Sports
Talk to us about your tax return.
Send us a few details about your contract and income outside the club, and we'll come back with a straight answer on what you need to file and what you could claim.
Get in touch