IPL 2025: How Much Income Tax BCCI Gives from IPL Earnings?- EXPLAINED

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IPL 2025: The Indian Premier League (IPL) has grown into one of the most lucrative sports leagues globally. In 2024, its brand value crossed Rs 1 lakh crore, driven significantly by a Rs 48,000 crore media rights deal.

This deal alone earns the league a minimum of Rs 12,000 crore per season. Additionally, the combined revenue of the 10 IPL teams stood at Rs 6,797 crore in 2024.

Tax Exemption for IPL

Despite its massive earnings, the IPL is exempt from paying direct taxes to the Indian government. This exemption followed a successful appeal to the Income Tax Appellate Tribunal (ITAT), where the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) argued that the league promotes cricket, classifying it as a non-profit activity. This decision has enabled IPL to retain a large portion of its profits without paying corporate taxes.

Revenue to Government from Player Salaries

While the BCCI is exempt from direct taxes, the Indian government still benefits from the league through tax deductions from player salaries. In the IPL 2025 season, the government earned nearly Rs 90 crore from the mega auction. This income comes from the Tax Deducted at Source (TDS) on the cricketers' earnings.

TDS on Indian and Foreign Players

Indian Cricketers: The government deducts 10% of the salary paid to Indian players as TDS. For IPL 2025, the 10 teams paid Rs 383.4 crore to Indian cricketers, resulting in a tax contribution of approximately Rs 38.34 crore.

Foreign Cricketers: Salaries of foreign players are subject to a 20% TDS. In IPL 2025, teams spent Rs 255.75 crore on foreign players, contributing around Rs 51.15 crore in taxes.

Total Tax Contribution

Combining both categories, the Indian government earned about Rs 89.49 crore from the salaries of IPL players in the 2025 season. While the league remains tax-exempt, this TDS collection ensures a significant revenue inflow to the government.

With the league's popularity soaring, player salaries and subsequent tax collections are expected to rise in the coming years, maintaining a consistent revenue stream for the government despite the tax exemption on the league's primary earnings.