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

Why Location Matters

For a player, coach, referee, or other tournament participant, income connected to a match may be sourced to the place where the work is performed. Figuring out what that 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 matches in the United States. A World Cup match in New Jersey, Philadelphia, or Boston can raise tax questions in more than one place: the player’s country of residence, the country where he performs, and potentially the U.S. 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. Those U.S. matches can raise federal tax questions even though Texas and Florida do not impose a state individual income tax on wages.

How The Tournament Map Works

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

Mbappé, who earned an estimated $95 million last year, landing him at #12 on Forbes’ list of the World's Highest-Paid Athletes (2026), plays for France, which is in Group I with Senegal, Norway, and Iraq. France’s opening match will be against Senegal on June 16, 2026, at New York/New Jersey Stadium. Despite the name, New York/New Jersey Stadium is MetLife Stadium, physically located in East Rutherford, New Jersey.

Ronaldo, who raked in $300 million last year as the world’s top-earning athlete, plays for Portugal, which is 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 plays Uzbekistan on June 22, 2026, at Guadalajara Stadium, and DR Congo on June 27, 2026, at Miami Stadium.

(The United States is in Group D with Paraguay, Türkiye, and Australia and opens its tournament on June 12, 2026, at Los Angeles Stadium.)

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

Federal Tax Comes First

In the U.S., U.S. citizens and U.S. tax residents are generally subject to federal income tax on worldwide income, no matter where they live or where the income is earned. That concept can surprise taxpayers from other countries.

But most visiting World Cup players will not be U.S. citizens or U.S. tax residents. For them, the federal question is different. The issue is not whether the U.S. can tax all of their income. Generally, it cannot. The issue is whether the U.S. can tax income connected to work performed in the U.S. Generally, it can.

A nonresident athlete who plays or trains in the U.S. may have U.S.-source income. That income may be subject to federal tax and withholding even if the athlete lives abroad, plays for a foreign club, and leaves the U.S. after the match.

So a short U.S. visit usually will not make a foreign player a U.S. tax resident. But a match played here can still create a U.S. federal tax issue for compensation tied to work performed here. That can include match fees, appearance fees, tournament bonuses, training days, media obligations, sponsor events, and other paid services to the extent they are connected to U.S. matches or U.S. appearances.

Treaties And Double Taxation

Tax treaties can soften the blow. The U.S. has income tax treaties with roughly 65 countries, but treaty coverage is uneven. Some World Cup countries have U.S. treaties; others do not. And even when a treaty applies, athletes and entertainers often get special treatment. Many treaties allow the country where the performance occurs to tax income earned by athletes or entertainers, even when the person is a resident of another country.

That does not necessarily mean the same income is taxed twice. Foreign tax credits are one way tax systems try to prevent the same income from being taxed twice. 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 residence country for U.S. tax paid. The credit does not eliminate U.S. tax. It helps determine whether the player gets relief from double taxation.

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

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

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 ordinary workers who come into the state for only a limited number of days, but those rules often do not protect professional athletes. Athletes can be taxed in places where they play, practice, train, or perform other required team duties. This is sometimes referred to as the “jock tax.”

A jock tax typically applies nonresident income tax rules to highly paid athletes and entertainers, assigning a portion of their income to the states where they work. For athletes, that often means a duty-day formula: the number of days spent working in the state divided by total duty days 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 income is earned in the state, the state wants its share.

But some World Cup host states will not impose a state income tax on visiting players for a simple reason: they do not have a state individual income tax on wages. For 2026, that matters in Florida, Texas, and Washington, where matches will be played in Miami, Dallas, Houston, and Seattle. (Other no-income-tax states—Alaska, Nevada, New Hampshire, South Dakota, Tennessee, and Wyoming — are not hosting 2026 World Cup matches.)

Local Taxes Can Also Matter

Local taxes can complicate things even more, but only in some U.S. host cities. While most U.S. World Cup venues do not impose a separate city income tax on visiting players, there are exceptions in cities like Philadelphia and Kansas City, where local wage or earnings taxes may apply to nonresidents working in the city. Philadelphia famously (or infamously) imposes a 3.43% wage tax on nonresidents for work performed in Philadelphia. Kansas City, Missouri, also has an earnings tax system that applies a 1% tax to nonresidents on income earned in the city.

The Tax Map Changes With The Schedule

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