Luke Littler is likely to lose almost half of his £275,000 Premier League Darts winnings in tax.
The 17-year-old sensation once again showed his magic on Thursday night, defeating Luke Humphries 11-7 in the final of the competition at the O2 in London. He even hit a nine-darter en route to victory, becoming only the second player to do so in the final after Phil Taylor.
His triumph earned him the top six-figure prize, supplementing the £40k he pocketed from his four nightly victories in Belfast, Manchester, Liverpool and Aberdeen, reports the Express. However, Littler won’t be seeing anywhere near the total £315k hitting his bank balance.
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That’s because AltIndex estimate he’ll be handing £136,263.60 to HMRC. That’s £127,953 in income tax and a further £8,310.60 in National Insurance contributions.
His take home from the 17 weeks of the Premier League is therefore estimated at £178,736.40. That’s more than he earned from his march to the World Championship final, which captivated the nation at the turn of the year.
After Humphries beat him on that occasion, Littler picked up the £200k runner-up sum. Of that, £73,203 will have been taken in tax and £7,330 paid in National Insurance, with £119,467 ultimately making its way to him.
Overall from those two tournaments alone, Littler will have been stung for roughly £217k in tax, pocketing nearly £300k. And that’s without all his other appearances that have packed out his calendar since turning pro.
For him, the most rewarding part of his success is being able to repay his parents for their financial and emotional support throughout his childhood. “It is 100 per cent [the best night of my life],” he shared with Sky Sports after defeating Humphries.
“I couldn’t believe it. I went over to Luke and he said ‘go and celebrate with your family like you said to me’ and I did. I just burst out crying and hugged them.
“Whenever I win something and go over to them, all the emotions come out because my mum and dad, they put their own money into me, got me the sponsors I have today, and I can’t thank you enough.”
