NHL Jock Tax Calculator
What an NHL player keeps at each of the 32 clubs: 84 games, two countries, and the reason free agents sign for less in Florida than in Montreal.
NHL Jock Tax Calculator: with the default inputs, total income tax is $5,310,493.
The 2026-27 minimum is $850,000, set by the collective bargaining agreement. NHL contracts are fully guaranteed, so for most players this is simply the year's salary.
Where he is resident for tax. In hockey this is the single biggest number on the page, because seven clubs play in a country that taxes harder than any US state.
- After income tax
- $4,689,507
- Total compensation
- $10,000,000
- US federal income tax
- $563,687
- US state income tax
- $87,865
- City income tax
- $4,505
- Canadian tax, after credit
- $4,654,437
- Effective total tax rate
- 53.1%
- Cost of this club against the cheapest
- $1,508,378
- Places he must file in
- 14
Assumptions
- Salary is the figure you enter. No player is named and no contract is quoted, because the NHL publishes none.
- 207 duty days by default — a 194-day regular season plus a 13-day training camp — at 1 per away game. Both adjustable.
- Each jurisdiction's tax is its effective rate on the whole salary applied to the share sourced there, which is how states and provinces tax visiting athletes.
- In the United States the home state credits tax paid to other states, capped at its own rate. In Canada provincial tax follows residence for a resident and the game for a visitor.
- The country of residence credits the other's tax, capped at what it would itself have charged. US states credit no foreign tax.
- A player resident in Canada is treated as a non-resident alien in the United States: taxed on US-source income only, without the standard deduction.
- Washington DC takes nothing from a non-resident, as the Home Rule Act requires. Global Series games in Helsinki and Düsseldorf are taxed here by neither country.
- City income tax is modelled for Columbus, Philadelphia, Detroit and St. Louis. Pittsburgh and New York City are named rather than modelled: Pittsburgh's current rate is unsettled, and New York City reaches only residents, which a player's address decides rather than his club.
- Regular season only: no play-off pay or its extra duty days.
- No escrow, no CPP, no FICA, no AMT, no agent fees, and no Ontario Health Premium (a maximum of $900).
| Line item | Amount | % of compensation |
|---|---|---|
| US federal income tax | $563,686.72 | 5.64% |
| Other US states he plays in (13) | $87,864.77 | 0.88% |
| City income tax (Philadelphia, Columbus, Detroit, St. Louis) | $4,504.83 | 0.05% |
| Canada — federal and Ontario, after credit | $4,654,436.99 | 46.54% |
| Total income tax | $5,310,493.32 | 53.1% |
| After income tax | $4,689,506.68 | 46.9% |
No escrow, no payroll tax, no agent fees. Every percentage is a share of total compensation.
| Club | Plays in | Total income tax | He keeps | Effective rate |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dallas Stars | Dallas, TX | $3,802,115 | $6,197,885 | 38.02% |
| Seattle Kraken | Seattle, WA | $3,814,612 | $6,185,388 | 38.15% |
| Nashville Predators | Nashville, TN | $3,816,371 | $6,183,629 | 38.16% |
| Vegas Golden Knights | Paradise, NV | $3,816,537 | $6,183,463 | 38.17% |
| Florida Panthers | Sunrise, FL | $3,818,108 | $6,181,892 | 38.18% |
| Tampa Bay Lightning | Tampa, FL | $3,820,879 | $6,179,121 | 38.21% |
| Pittsburgh Penguins | Pittsburgh, PA | $4,078,305 | $5,921,695 | 40.78% |
| Carolina Hurricanes | Raleigh, NC | $4,160,514 | $5,839,486 | 41.61% |
| Utah Mammoth | Salt Lake City, UT | $4,202,647 | $5,797,353 | 42.03% |
| Colorado Avalanche | Denver, CO | $4,204,951 | $5,795,049 | 42.05% |
| Chicago Blackhawks | Chicago, IL | $4,248,344 | $5,751,656 | 42.48% |
| Columbus Blue Jackets | Columbus, OH | $4,300,705 | $5,699,295 | 43.01% |
| St. Louis Blues | St. Louis, MO | $4,319,381 | $5,680,619 | 43.19% |
| Detroit Red Wings | Detroit, MI | $4,435,739 | $5,564,261 | 44.36% |
| Philadelphia Flyers | Philadelphia, PA | $4,452,292 | $5,547,708 | 44.52% |
| Boston Bruins | Boston, MA | $4,599,778 | $5,400,222 | 46% |
| New York Islanders | Elmont, NY | $4,686,496 | $5,313,504 | 46.86% |
| New York Rangers | New York, NY | $4,697,648 | $5,302,352 | 46.98% |
| Buffalo Sabres | Buffalo, NY | $4,705,294 | $5,294,706 | 47.05% |
| Minnesota Wild | St. Paul, MN | $4,712,102 | $5,287,898 | 47.12% |
| Calgary Flames | Calgary, AB 🇨🇦 | $4,761,645 | $5,238,355 | 47.62% |
| Edmonton Oilers | Edmonton, AB 🇨🇦 | $4,761,645 | $5,238,355 | 47.62% |
| New Jersey Devils | Newark, NJ | $4,765,540 | $5,234,460 | 47.66% |
| Washington Capitals | Washington, DC | $4,785,537 | $5,214,463 | 47.86% |
| Winnipeg Jets | Winnipeg, MB 🇨🇦 | $5,008,343 | $4,991,657 | 50.08% |
| Los Angeles Kings | Los Angeles, CA | $5,024,612 | $4,975,388 | 50.25% |
| Anaheim Ducks | Anaheim, CA | $5,031,657 | $4,968,343 | 50.32% |
| San Jose Sharks | San Jose, CA | $5,031,657 | $4,968,343 | 50.32% |
| Montréal Canadiens | Montreal, QC 🇨🇦 | $5,298,304 | $4,701,696 | 52.98% |
| Vancouver Canucks | Vancouver, BC 🇨🇦 | $5,300,820 | $4,699,180 | 53.01% |
| Ottawa Senators | Ottawa, ON 🇨🇦 | $5,310,493 | $4,689,507 | 53.1% |
| Toronto Maple Leafs | Toronto, ON 🇨🇦 | $5,310,493 | $4,689,507 | 53.1% |
Assuming he lives wherever the club plays. Dallas Stars is the cheapest and Toronto Maple Leafs the dearest — a gap of $1,508,378 on the same salary, which is what a club in a high-tax place has to make up in dollars to make an equal offer.
| State | Duty days | % of pay sourced there | Income sourced there | Its rate on the whole salary | Tax before credit |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| New York | 5 | 2.42% | $241,546 | 9.64% | $23,288 |
| California | 3 | 1.45% | $144,928 | 13% | $18,842 |
| New Jersey | 2 | 0.97% | $96,618 | 10.42% | $10,067 |
| Massachusetts | 2 | 0.97% | $96,618 | 8.55% | $8,264 |
| Minnesota | 1 | 0.48% | $48,309 | 9.78% | $4,724 |
| Pennsylvania | 3 | 1.45% | $144,928 | 3.07% | $4,449 |
| Michigan | 2 | 0.97% | $96,618 | 4.25% | $4,104 |
| North Carolina | 2 | 0.97% | $96,618 | 3.98% | $3,850 |
| Illinois | 1 | 0.48% | $48,309 | 4.95% | $2,391 |
| Missouri | 1 | 0.48% | $48,309 | 4.69% | $2,266 |
| Utah | 1 | 0.48% | $48,309 | 4.5% | $2,174 |
| Colorado | 1 | 0.48% | $48,309 | 4.39% | $2,122 |
| Ohio | 1 | 0.48% | $48,309 | 2.74% | $1,325 |
| District of Columbia | 1 | 0.48% | $48,309 | 0% | $0 |
| Florida | 4 | 1.93% | $193,237 | 0% | $0 |
| Nevada | 1 | 0.48% | $48,309 | 0% | $0 |
| Tennessee | 1 | 0.48% | $48,309 | 0% | $0 |
| Texas | 1 | 0.48% | $48,309 | 0% | $0 |
| Washington | 1 | 0.48% | $48,309 | 0% | $0 |
Duty days at 1 per away game out of 207 in the season. The rate is that state's effective rate on the whole salary applied to the share sourced there. Florida, Texas, Tennessee, Nevada, Washington, District of Columbia appear because he plays there and take nothing.
| Jurisdiction | Duty days | Income it reaches | Rate | Tax |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ontario | 167 | $10,000,000 | 20.37% | $2,036,517 |
| Canada — federal | 173 | $10,000,000 | 32.74% | $3,273,976 |
A Canadian resident pays provincial tax to the province he lives in, on everything, wherever it was earned — the opposite of how US states work. Federal tax is on top.
| City | Taxed by | Games |
|---|---|---|
| Boston · TD Garden | Massachusetts | 2 |
| Buffalo · KeyBank Center | New York | 2 |
| Detroit · Little Caesars Arena | Michigan | 2 |
| Montreal · Centre Bell | Quebec, Canada | 2 |
| New York · Madison Square Garden | New York | 2 |
| Newark · Prudential Center | New Jersey | 2 |
| Ottawa · Canadian Tire Centre | Ontario, Canada | 2 |
| Pittsburgh · PPG Paints Arena | Pennsylvania | 2 |
| Raleigh · Lenovo Center | North Carolina | 2 |
| Sunrise · Amerant Bank Arena | Florida | 2 |
| Tampa · Benchmark International Arena | Florida | 2 |
| Anaheim · Honda Center | California | 1 |
| Calgary · Scotiabank Saddledome | Alberta, Canada | 1 |
| Chicago · United Center | Illinois | 1 |
| Columbus · Nationwide Arena | Ohio | 1 |
| Dallas · American Airlines Center | Texas | 1 |
| Denver · Ball Arena | Colorado | 1 |
| Edmonton · Rogers Place | Alberta, Canada | 1 |
| Elmont · UBS Arena | New York | 1 |
| Los Angeles · Crypto.com Arena | California | 1 |
| Nashville · Bridgestone Arena | Tennessee | 1 |
| Paradise · T-Mobile Arena | Nevada | 1 |
| Philadelphia · Xfinity Mobile Arena | Pennsylvania | 1 |
| Salt Lake City · Delta Center | Utah | 1 |
| San Jose · SAP Center at San Jose | California | 1 |
| Seattle · Climate Pledge Arena | Washington | 1 |
| St. Louis · Enterprise Center | Missouri | 1 |
| St. Paul · Grand Casino Arena | Minnesota | 1 |
| Vancouver · Rogers Arena | British Columbia, Canada | 1 |
| Washington · Capital One Arena | District of Columbia | 1 |
| Winnipeg · Canada Life Centre | Manitoba, Canada | 1 |
Games at each ground across the season. Every club visits 31 of them.
How this is worked out
The formula
Income sourced to a place = salary × (duty days there ÷ total duty days) Tax it charges = its effective rate on the WHOLE salary × the income sourced there United States: the home state taxes everything and credits the other states, capped at its own rate. Washington DC may not tax a non-resident at all. Canada: a visitor pays each province for the games played there, plus federal tax on the Canadian total. A Canadian *resident* pays his own province on everything instead — provincial tax follows residence there, not the game. Across the border: whichever country he lives in credits the other's tax, capped at what it would itself have charged. Canada charges more than the US does, so the excess is simply lost. 84 games, 207 duty days, 1 per away game.
Open How it’s calculated above to see this worked through with your own numbers.
What you enter
- Club
- Choose one of 32 options.Anaheim Ducks · Anaheim, CA · Boston Bruins · Boston, MA · Buffalo Sabres · Buffalo, NY · Calgary Flames · Calgary, AB (Canada) · Carolina Hurricanes · Raleigh, NC · Chicago Blackhawks · Chicago, IL · Colorado Avalanche · Denver, CO · Columbus Blue Jackets · Columbus, OH · Dallas Stars · Dallas, TX · Detroit Red Wings · Detroit, MI · Edmonton Oilers · Edmonton, AB (Canada) · Florida Panthers · Sunrise, FL · Los Angeles Kings · Los Angeles, CA · Minnesota Wild · St. Paul, MN · Montréal Canadiens · Montreal, QC (Canada) · Nashville Predators · Nashville, TN · New Jersey Devils · Newark, NJ · New York Islanders · Elmont, NY · New York Rangers · New York, NY · Ottawa Senators · Ottawa, ON (Canada) · Philadelphia Flyers · Philadelphia, PA · Pittsburgh Penguins · Pittsburgh, PA · San Jose Sharks · San Jose, CA · Seattle Kraken · Seattle, WA · St. Louis Blues · St. Louis, MO · Tampa Bay Lightning · Tampa, FL · Toronto Maple Leafs · Toronto, ON (Canada) · Utah Mammoth · Salt Lake City, UT · Vancouver Canucks · Vancouver, BC (Canada) · Vegas Golden Knights · Paradise, NV · Washington Capitals · Washington, DC · Winnipeg Jets · Winnipeg, MB (Canada)
- Salary for the season
- The 2026-27 minimum is $850,000, set by the collective bargaining agreement. NHL contracts are fully guaranteed, so for most players this is simply the year's salary.in dollars · 0 or more · defaults to 10000000
- Lives in
- Where he is resident for tax. In hockey this is the single biggest number on the page, because seven clubs play in a country that taxes harder than any US state.Same place as the club · Alabama · Alaska — no income tax · Arizona · Arkansas · California · Colorado · Connecticut · Delaware · District of Columbia · Florida — no income tax · Georgia · Hawaii · Idaho · Illinois · Indiana · Iowa · Kansas · Kentucky · Louisiana · Maine · Maryland · Massachusetts · Michigan · Minnesota · Mississippi · Missouri · Montana · Nebraska · Nevada — no income tax · New Hampshire — no income tax · New Jersey · New Mexico · New York · North Carolina · North Dakota · Ohio · Oklahoma · Oregon · Pennsylvania · Rhode Island · South Carolina · South Dakota — no income tax · Tennessee — no income tax · Texas — no income tax · Utah · Vermont · Virginia · Washington — no income tax · West Virginia · Wisconsin · Wyoming — no income tax · Ontario, Canada · Quebec, Canada · Alberta, Canada · British Columbia, Canada · Manitoba, Canada
- Signing bonus this year(under More options)
- Taxable only where the player lives, not apportioned across the places he plays. Hockey uses these heavily — the CBA lets bonuses be up to 60% of a contract — precisely because of where they are taxed.in dollars · 0 or more · defaults to 0
- Duty days in the season(under More options)
- Training camp through the last game: 2026-27 runs 194 days, and camp adds up to 13 more. The longest season in North American sport, which is why each individual state's share is small.from 150 to 300 · whole numbers only · defaults to 207
- Duty days per away game(under More options)
- One per game is the usual treatment. Raise it if you want to count the travel days of a long road trip against the states they were spent in.from 1 to 3 · whole numbers only · defaults to 1
- Filing status(under More options)
- Choose one of 2 options.Single · Married filing jointly
What you get back
- Total income taxmain answer
- After income tax
- Total compensation
- US federal income tax
- US state income tax
- City income tax
- Canadian tax, after credit
- Effective total tax rate
- Cost of this club against the cheapest
- Places he must file in
What this assumes
- Salary is the figure you enter. No player is named and no contract is quoted, because the NHL publishes none.
- 207 duty days by default — a 194-day regular season plus a 13-day training camp — at 1 per away game. Both adjustable.
- Each jurisdiction's tax is its effective rate on the whole salary applied to the share sourced there, which is how states and provinces tax visiting athletes.
- In the United States the home state credits tax paid to other states, capped at its own rate. In Canada provincial tax follows residence for a resident and the game for a visitor.
- The country of residence credits the other's tax, capped at what it would itself have charged. US states credit no foreign tax.
- A player resident in Canada is treated as a non-resident alien in the United States: taxed on US-source income only, without the standard deduction.
- Washington DC takes nothing from a non-resident, as the Home Rule Act requires. Global Series games in Helsinki and Düsseldorf are taxed here by neither country.
- City income tax is modelled for Columbus, Philadelphia, Detroit and St. Louis. Pittsburgh and New York City are named rather than modelled: Pittsburgh's current rate is unsettled, and New York City reaches only residents, which a player's address decides rather than his club.
- Regular season only: no play-off pay or its extra duty days.
- No escrow, no CPP, no FICA, no AMT, no agent fees, and no Ontario Health Premium (a maximum of $900).
About this calculator
Hockey is the only sport where the tax argument is also a competitive-balance argument, and it is not a fringe complaint — it is why free agents sign for less in Sunrise than in Montreal, and why seven clubs spend every July explaining that they can match any offer except this one.
The reason is that the NHL is the one league that plays in two countries. A Toronto, Ottawa, Montreal or Vancouver player is taxed at a combined rate of about 53% — higher than California, higher than New York, higher than anywhere a US club plays. An Edmonton or Calgary player pays about 48%, because Alberta has the lowest top rate in Canada: those two clubs are cheaper than all three in California. A Florida, Nashville, Dallas, Vegas or Seattle player pays no state income tax at all.
On a $10m salary that spread is worth well over a million dollars a year, every year, to a player choosing between otherwise identical offers.
The longest season in North American sport
A hockey player's pay is spread across 207 duty days — training camp in September through the last game in April — and his club plays at 31 different grounds. So each individual state takes a small slice: three games in Minnesota out of 207 days is well under 2% of the salary. It is the sheer number of them, and the country on the other side of the border, that adds up.
The grounds nobody can tax, and one that is a sport of its own
Washington. Congress forbade the District from taxing non-residents in the Home Rule Act, so a visiting player's duty days at Capital One Arena are taxed by no state and no city. It is the only such ground in American professional sport.
Helsinki and Düsseldorf. The Global Series games sit outside both countries' reach entirely.
Pittsburgh is the opposite case. Its 3% fee aimed squarely at visiting athletes was struck down by the Pennsylvania Supreme Court in 2025, and what replaced it is unsettled — so it is named in the results rather than quietly treated as free.
What the table below is really for
Every calculator here answers a question. This one answers the question an agent asks in July: on the same money, at which of the 32 clubs does my client keep the most? The second table runs the whole league and sorts it.
What this does not do
It names no players and quotes no contracts — the NHL publishes no salary data and nothing permissively licensed carries it, so the salary is yours to enter. It does not model escrow, which takes its cut before any of this. And it stops at income tax: no CPP, no FICA, no agent fees.
Frequently asked questions
▸Do NHL players really pay more tax on Canadian teams?
Most of them, and by a wide margin — but not all. Ontario, Quebec and British Columbia take a combined federal and provincial rate of about 53%, more than California and far more than the zero charged in Florida, Texas, Tennessee, Nevada and Washington. Alberta is the exception: at roughly 48% it is cheaper than the three California clubs, and about level with New Jersey and Washington. So Edmonton and Calgary sit in the middle of the league rather than the bottom, and it is Toronto, Ottawa, Montreal and Vancouver that are the expensive addresses. On a $10m salary the gap between the cheapest club and the dearest is over $1.5m a year.
▸Is that why free agents sign in Florida, Vegas, Dallas and Nashville?
It is a large part of it. A club in a no-tax state can offer less money and still leave the player better off, which is worth several million dollars of cap space across a roster. The league has no mechanism to equalise it, and the Canadian clubs have raised it in collective bargaining more than once without result.
▸Do American players pay Canadian tax for road games in Canada?
Yes. Every club visits Canada eight to ten times a season, and Canada taxes the income earned on those days — federal tax plus the province the game was in. Article XVI of the Canada–US treaty exempts athletes earning under CAN$15,000 there in a year, a threshold an NHL player clears on his first road trip. The tax paid is creditable against US federal tax, but only up to what the US would itself have charged on that income, so some of it is genuinely lost.
▸How are duty days counted in hockey?
From the opening of training camp to the last game of the regular season — 194 days of schedule in 2026-27, plus a camp the CBA caps at 13 days for an established player. Around 207 in total. That is the longest season in North American professional sport, which dilutes each individual state's share even as the number of states grows.
▸Why is a signing bonus taxed differently?
Because it is not compensation for services performed on any particular day, it is generally sourced entirely to where the player lives rather than apportioned across the places he plays. That is why hockey contracts lean so heavily on them — the CBA permits bonuses up to 60% of a contract — and why a player's residence when he signs can be worth millions.
▸Does this include escrow?
No. Under the CBA a percentage of every pay cheque is withheld to keep the players' share of revenue at 50%, and it is deducted before tax is even calculated. It is a real reduction in take-home pay and it is not modelled here, because it is set after the fact and varies year to year.
▸Which NHL arenas have a city income tax?
Columbus at 2.5%, Philadelphia at 3.425% for non-residents, Detroit at 1.2% and St. Louis at 1% — all charged on top of the state and all reaching visiting players. Two are deliberately left out and named instead of guessed at. Pittsburgh charges one, but the rate that replaced its struck-down athlete fee is unsettled. And New York City taxes its own residents up to 3.876% while reaching no visitor at all — its commuter tax was repealed in 1999 — so a player at Madison Square Garden owes the city nothing unless he actually lives in the five boroughs, which this does not assume and does not model. A Rangers player who does live in Manhattan pays several points more than the figure here.
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