For the 2026/27 season, Premier League clubs are governed by Squad Cost Ratio (SCR) and Sustainability and Systemic Resilience (SSR), not the former Profitability and Sustainability Rules (PSR). SCR tests defined on-pitch costs against football-related income and player-sale results; SSR checks financial resilience. A club that breaches the applicable rules may face a levy or sporting sanction, depending on the rule, threshold and case. Earlier PSR breaches can still be enforced under the League’s preserved powers.
Which Premier League financial rules apply now?
The season matters. PSR applied through the end of 2025/26. SCR and SSR took effect at the beginning of 2026/27 and govern current-season compliance. The Premier League says it retains powers to begin or continue enforcement over PSR periods ending in 2025/26 or earlier. That is why historical PSR cases remain relevant, but they do not describe the calculation now used for 2026/27 compliance.
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The League’s public explanations are summaries. The current Premier League Handbook and its appendices control the detailed definitions, deadlines and sanctions.
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|---|---|---|---|
| PSR (through 2025/26) | Club-wide adjusted earnings, including rule-defined adjustments | Ordinarily a rolling three-year period | Historical breaches can still be investigated or sanctioned. |
| SCR (from 2026/27) | Defined on-pitch squad costs against football-related revenue and net profit or loss from player sales | Season-based monitoring, with in-season checks and later confirmation | Controls the share of relevant income that clubs spend on the squad. |
| SSR (from 2026/27) | Working capital, liquidity and positive equity | Annual assessment, with further assessment possible after a Call-In Event | Tests short-, medium- and long-term financial resilience separately from squad spending. |
How does the current Squad Cost Ratio work?
The Premier League describes SCR as a limit on “on-pitch spending” relative to football-related revenue and net profit or loss from player sales. Its July 2026 explainer sets an 85% green threshold. The League also describes up to 30% additional multi-year allowance above that green threshold, producing a red threshold at which sporting sanctions may apply.
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What the green and red thresholds mean
The 85% figure is the green threshold, not an automatic sporting-sanction line. A club can exceed 85% and remain below its red threshold because the rules provide a limited additional allowance. Exceeding the green threshold leads to further checks: the club’s accounts are confirmed later, and the allowance can be reduced through a feedback loop if the accounts confirmation shows spending above 85%.
Under the League’s summary, a club above 85% but below the red threshold is subject to accounts confirmation and may owe a levy under the new regime. Levies apply only to breaches in 2027/28 onwards. If the club is above the red threshold at the March test, the summary says a sporting sanction follows. The particular outcome remains subject to the operative rules and the determination of the case.
When clubs are assessed
SCR is assessed by season. The League monitors clubs in October and conducts its principal in-season assessment on 1 March, after the winter transfer window. For clubs above 85% at the March test, the League describes a June accounts-confirmation test and an October true-up. It also uses estimated football-revenue inputs agreed before the season, so the March check is not simply a final calculation from completed annual accounts.
How the domestic rule relates to UEFA’s
UEFA has a separate squad-cost rule. The Premier League’s explainer says UEFA’s SCR cap is 70% for clubs competing in Europe; domestic-only clubs are subject to the League’s 85% green threshold. A club in European competition therefore needs to consider both sets of rules rather than treating the domestic threshold as a substitute for UEFA compliance.
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What does SSR check?
SSR is a separate framework, not another name for SCR. Its three tests are Working Capital, Liquidity and Positive Equity. Together, they assess financial resilience across short, medium and long time horizons, rather than setting a squad-cost percentage.
The Premier League says clubs are assessed on 7 July each year, with further assessment possible after a Call-In Event. Its stated Positive Equity Ratio thresholds are:
- 90% in 2026/27
- 85% in 2027/28
- 80% from 2028/29
Those dates and thresholds are the League’s published summary. The detailed formulas and how a particular club’s position is tested depend on the current Handbook provisions.
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PSR examined profitability across the club, rather than measuring a squad-cost ratio. The Premier League describes an ordinary rolling three-year calculation based on adjusted earnings before tax. It starts with profit or loss after depreciation and interest but before tax, then applies adjustments allowed by the rules.
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The League identifies examples of general football-interest costs that can be added back, including infrastructure, community work, women’s football, youth development and depreciation of tangible fixed assets. Exceptional COVID-19 costs were also permitted as add-backs for the 2019/20, 2020/21 and 2021/22 years. These were rule-defined adjustments—not a general right for a club to remove any expense it considered beneficial. Eligibility depends on the rules and, where disputed, the relevant decision.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.What penalties have clubs faced?
Points deductions have been imposed in PSR cases, and an appeal has changed a sanction. Everton’s two cases illustrate those outcomes, but they are separate decisions under the former regime—not a standard tariff for every breach.
| PSR case | Decision | What happened |
|---|---|---|
| Period ending 2021/22 | An independent Commission initially imposed a 10-point deduction. | An independent Appeal Board reduced it to an immediate six-point deduction. |
| Period ending 2022/23 | An independent Commission imposed an immediate two-point deduction. | This was a separate case; the club admitted the breach. |
Under SCR, the League’s summary distinguishes a possible levy for certain cases above the green threshold from a sporting sanction when the red threshold is exceeded. The applicable rule, process and decision in the individual matter determine what penalty is imposed; the historic Everton deductions do not establish what a future SCR case will receive.
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How to read a Premier League financial-rules story
- Check the season first. A report about a period ending in 2025/26 or earlier may concern PSR even if it is published after SCR and SSR have taken effect.
- Identify the test. Adjusted club-wide earnings point to PSR; squad costs relative to income point to SCR; working capital, liquidity or equity point to SSR.
- Separate threshold from penalty. Under SCR, 85% is the green threshold, while the red threshold is the sporting-sanction trigger described in the League’s summary. The available allowance and later checks affect how a club is assessed.
- Distinguish an allegation from an outcome. A Commission decision, an appeal and a final sanction are different stages; an appeal can change the result, as Everton’s 2021/22 case shows.
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