Rory McIlroy faces £1.2m bill if he completes career Grand Slam at the Masters | Golf | Sport
Rory McIlroy will be hit with a seven-figure tax bill if he wins the Masters to complete a career Grand Slam this weekend. The Northern Irishman has already won the US Open, the PGA Championship and The Open but has never tasted glory at Augusta National. He will be desperate to get over the line as he looks to end an 11-year wait for his fifth major title.
The prize money for the Masters is yet to be announced, but it is expected to remain the same as last year. Scottie Scheffler was awarded £2.8million in addition to his green jacket in 2024, meaning this year’s winner is likely to receive an identical payout. However, that figure will be slashed by almost half when tax is taken into account.
Paul Barham, head of international private client tax at Forvis Mazars, told Express Sport: “Any prize money earned will be subject to US federal tax, the top rate of which is still 37 per cent. Golfers will also have to pay state tax in Georgia at 5.39 per cent.
“The US tax will be paid by all the golfers playing at Augusta regardless of where they are tax resident and if they are a tax resident in the US, they shouldn’t pay tax on this prize money in any other country.”
If the prize money is unchanged from last year, McIlroy would need to pay just under £1.2m in federal and state tax if he wins the Masters. It would leave him with £1.61m in take-home pay, a reduction of 42.39 per cent from the original sum.
Given that McIlroy currently lives in Florida, he is considered a US resident which means he would not be subjected to further UK taxes.
George Cannon, who advises professional golfers in his role as private client tax manager at Kreston Reeves, also spoke to Express Sport.
He explained: “As a non-UK resident for tax purposes, any winnings Rory receives in relation to overseas performances will not be taxable in the UK but will be subject to the relevant overseas taxes.
“Any earnings that relate to UK performances, such as The Open and The Scottish Open, would be taxable in the UK as those events take place in the UK.
“If the individual is not a UK resident, then they would not have any UK tax to pay in addition to the US taxes as the event is held outside of the UK.”
It remains to be seen if McIlroy will end his lengthy wait for another major at Augusta this weekend. At a press conference on Tuesday, he insisted that he was ready to ‘block out the noise’ from elsewhere and focus on delivering the goods.
“It’s just narratives, it’s noise,” said McIlroy. “It’s just trying to block out that noise as much as possible. I need to treat this tournament like all the other tournaments that I play throughout the year.
“I understand the narrative and the noise. There’s a lot of anticipation and build-up coming into this tournament each and every year, but I just have to keep my head down and focus on my job.”
