— NIL taxes · Tennessee · 2026
Tennessee has no state income tax on NIL money, on top of federal income tax and self-employment tax, and nothing is withheld from a 1099. Enter your earnings to see what you keep in 2026.
Figures last verified Oct 25, 2026 against the IRS and Tennessee Department of Revenue
Tennessee doesn't tax wages or self-employment income (a 2014 constitutional amendment bars it), and its tax on investment income ended in 2021. Athletes aren't on its professional privilege tax list. On $25,000 of NIL income a single athlete in Tennessee keeps about $20,897, or 83.6%.
Federal tax still applies in full: self-employment tax of 15.3% on 92.35% of your net earnings (the Social Security part stops at $184,500 in 2026) and income tax on what's left after the $16,100 standard deduction, half of the self-employment tax and the qualified business income deduction.
At $5,000, $25,000 and $100,000 of NIL income, a single athlete in Tennessee keeps 85.9%, 83.6% and 77.6%. Self-employment tax is the biggest bill at the low end; income tax grows with earnings.
| NIL income | Self-employment tax | Federal income tax | Tennessee tax | Take-home | You keep |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| $5,000 | $706 | $0 | $0 | $4,294 | 85.9% |
| $25,000 | $3,532 | $571 | $0 | $20,897 | 83.6% |
| $100,000 | $14,130 | $8,235 | $0 | $77,635 | 77.6% |
These assume no other income, no business expenses and the 2026 federal standard deduction. Business expenses (travel to a shoot, an agent's fee, equipment you need for the deal) lower every line. Run your own numbers above.
The trap is an LLC. Tennessee doesn't disregard a single-member LLC for franchise and excise tax, so an athlete who forms one can owe a 6.5% excise tax on the LLC's Tennessee income plus a 0.25% franchise tax.
Nothing is withheld from NIL pay, so the IRS expects estimated payments once you'll owe $1,000 or more for the year: April 15, June 15 and September 15, 2026, and January 15, 2027. Tennessee has no state income tax, so there are no state estimates to make.
A first-year athlete who owed no federal tax the year before doesn't have to make federal estimates. Setting aside a share of every payment as it arrives is the simplest way to cover the bill either way; the NIL taxes guide explains how.
Taxes are one half of a deal; the other is whether the deal is allowed. Tennessee's NIL rules cover the state law, what high-school athletes can do, and whether collectives can operate there.