Top Premier League clubs will be asked to pay almost £2m a year towards the running of the Independent Football Regulator after the watchdog published its proposed levy.

The IFR’s costs will be recouped via a tax on clubs from next year, with those teams earning the most set to contribute the biggest portion of the £20.3m annual levy.

That will mean Premier League teams who are also playing in Uefa competitions such as the Champions League and earning over £150m a year in commercial revenue occupying the top bracket and paying £1.8m. 

The IFR insists most top flight clubs will pay just £600,000 a year, with clubs in the National League contributing less than £600 each.

“The levy we are proposing today represents a fair and balanced approach and will ensure that most clubs pay around 0.1 per cent of their annual revenues,” said IFR CEO Richard Monks. 

“We are confident football will see this is a relatively modest investment to help achieve a more sustainable ecosystem which will provide peace of mind for fans, clubs and the communities they serve.”

The levy represents around 0.2 per cent of football’s annual revenues of £9bn in 2025-26, the IFR said. Championship clubs not in receipt of parachute payments will pay around £45,000, League One teams £9,000 and League Two sides £6,000.

Some Premier League club bosses had previously expressed concerns that they would have to pick up the tab for a regulator they did not want. 

If the Big Six – Arsenal, Chelsea, Liverpool, Manchester City, Manchester United and Tottenham Hotspur – each paid £1.8m and the other 14 teams £600,000, the top flight would contribute £19.2m of the IFR’s £20.3m levy.

What the IFR £20.3m levy is for

That levy is made up of £18.3m in annual operating expenses, phased recovery of the government’s costs incurred in setting up the IFR, and a £1m fund for litigation.

If the IFR requires additional funds for litigation – for instance, if it faced a legal challenge to any possible decision to disqualify Manchester City’s owners – it would request an advance from the Treasury, with that sum to be recouped via an increased levy in future years.

It follows the IFR’s publication last week of its draft State of the Game report, which warned that English football was exposed to severe financial risks despite its global success.

“The announcement of the levy is another big moment for the IFR,” added Monks. “Over the last year we have been busy laying the ground for the world’s first independent football regulator.

“We have already started to deliver real change in football – whether that’s through the stringent suitability checks we are running on owners and directors or through the State of the Game report which shone a light on how the football industry needs to change.”