Is £1 million really hitting the bullseye?

Eighteen year-old dart’s champion, Luke Littler’s, £1 million prize money headline sounds extraordinary. And it is. Very few people will ever earn that kind of money in a single year.

But the figure most people picture is not the one that ends up in his bank account. Once you pass that headline through the UK tax system, the reality looks very different.

Why the £1 million is taxed

This is where many people are surprised.

Lottery winnings are tax free. Prize money from professional sport is not.

Luke Littler is a professional athlete. That means his prize money is treated as earnings from his job, just like wages or fees. The £1 million is added to his other income for the year and taxed under the normal rules.

There is no special rate for winners and no flat prize tax. It is simply income.

What happens at very high income levels

Once someone earns above £125,140 in a year, they move into the highest income tax band.

At that point:

• 45% of most additional earnings goes in income tax
• A further 2% goes in National Insurance

Straight away, almost half of every extra pound earned disappears.

On a £1 million prize, that alone can mean a tax bill of close to £470,000, before considering some less obvious parts of the system.

The lesser-known high-tax zone

There is another layer that catches people out.

Between £100,000 and £125,140 of income, a tax-free allowance is gradually removed. For every £2 earned in that range, £1 of tax-free income is lost.

The effect is that earnings in this band are taxed much more heavily than people expect. In simple terms, this slice of income is taxed at around 60%, even before National Insurance is added.

Anyone with a large one-off payment will pass straight through this zone.

Why pensions do not fix the problem

A common reaction is: surely he can just put it into a pension and avoid the tax.

At this level of income, that does not work.

Once total earnings go above £260,000, the amount that can be paid into a pension each year with full tax benefits starts to shrink. By the time income reaches £360,000, that allowance is very small.

Trying to put more than that into a pension can trigger extra tax charges that cancel out much of the benefit.
In short, pensions offer only limited help for a seven-figure prize.

So how much does he actually keep?

The exact figure depends on timing, other income, and professional costs. But in broad terms:

• Income tax and National Insurance alone can exceed £500,000
• Fees for agents, advisers and career expenses reduce it further

A realistic take-home amount could be closer to £450,000 to £500,000, rather than £1 million.

Still an enormous sum. Just not the one suggested by the headline.

The wider lesson

Luke Littler’s win is remarkable. But it also highlights a bigger truth about the UK tax system.

It is built around steady, predictable earnings. When someone has a standout year or a sudden success, the system can be extremely unforgiving.

Winning £1 million can change your life. It does not mean you get to keep £1 million.