Here’s How Much Income Tax BCCI Gives from IPL Income, IPL 2025 BCCI Expected Income Tax Return

The Indian Premier League (IPL) has emerged as one of the world’s most lucrative sports competitions. In 2024, its brand worth surpassed Rs 1 lakh crore, owing largely to a Rs 48,000 crore media rights purchase.

This deal alone profits the league at least Rs 12,000 crore per season.  Additionally, the collective income of the ten IPL clubs was Rs 6,797 crore in 2024.

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Despite its enormous earnings, the IPL is immune 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) contended that the league promotes cricket, categorizing it as a non-profit activity. 

This decision has allowed IPL to keep a significant amount of its income without paying corporation taxes.

While the BCCI is exempt from direct taxes, the Indian government reaps advantages from the league through tax deductions on player wages. During the IPL 2025 season, the government received about Rs 90 crore from the major auction. This income is derived from the tax deducted at source (TDS) on cricketers’ earnings.

Indian cricketers: The government deducts 10% of their salaries as TDS.  For the IPL 2025, the ten teams paid Rs 383.4 crore to Indian cricketers, amounting in a tax payment of around Rs 38.34 crore.

Foreign Cricketers: Salaries for foreign players are subject to a 20% TDS.  In IPL 2025, teams spent Rs 255.75 crore on international players while paying approximately Rs 51.15 crore in taxes.

Combining all streams of income, the Indian government collected around Rs 89.49 Crore from IPL player payments in the 2025 season. While the league remains tax-exempt, TDS collection provides a major income intake for the government.

With the league’s popularity increasing, player salaries and accompanying tax collections are likely to rise in the future years, providing the government with a stable cash stream despite the league’s principal earnings being tax free.