Luke Littler has paid nearly half a million in tax before turning 18 amid rise to darting superstardom

Luke Littler has paid nearly half a million (£500,000) in tax before turning 18 as new figures from investment firm Saxo tell the story of the past year or so in the rise of the darting superstar and how much he will actually get in earnings.

With the massive pay cheque for winning the PDC World Darts Championship of £500,000 comes riches but also means that HMRC in the UK come knocking having to pay income tax so tax on what he has earned.

He earned £1,013,500 in career winnings across tournaments even before winning the World title last week according to Saxo. In 2024 alone, he earned £811,000 which equates to £369,384 in tax. That is when Littler had just turned 17. Including the tax paid on his £202,500 winnings in 2023 when he was 16, he will have paid £452,772 in income tax.

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But it will be even more. He will have to pay more on his £500,000 prize for winning the PDC World Darts Championship.

While Littler for a teenager of his age likely will have his parents looking after a vast chunk and likely won't be a drop in the ocean in the grand scheme of things, it shows that despite earning the amount he has it doesn't equal complete and utter riches in the end.

"If he invested half of his career earnings today, or £500,000, into an index fund returning 7% annually, he would earn £36,145.04 in interest in the first year alone, around the same amount Brits earn on average each year working a full-time job," said Dan Squires who is chief commercial officer at Saxo and this was reported by Sky News.

"If he leaves that £500,000 into the same fund for his retirement, at age 65, he would have £13,293,751.87 without ever throwing another dart again." 

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