Under the original plans in the 2015 Summer Budget, sportsmen were to receive only the first £50,000 ($65,600 €55,800) of payments tax-free.
Sports players will benefit substantially from the £100,000 tax-free allowance as testimonial incomes can be significant six-figure sums according to UHY Hacker Young.
These funds can help many players better bridge the gap between playing sports professionally and their next career move.
Benefit matches are used to honour a long-standing player and can prove especially helpful for those players in the lower leagues and those on more modest incomes.
Elliott Buss, partner at UHY Hacker Young, said: “The new tax-free allowance will make the system more generous for retiring athletes.
“While benefit matches for higher-profile stars often make the headlines, testimonials are an important source of income for many players across all leagues.
“Most big-name sports players already donate substantial amounts of the money they earn from testimonials to charities.”
Recent high-profile testimonials include one for former Manchester United and England forward Wayne Rooney in August 2016 and another for Manchester United captain Michael Carrick in June 2017.
Wayne Rooney’s testimonial alone raised £1.2m, with all the proceeds going to children’s charities.
