World Cup hero Jack Charlton’s son hit with £200,000 Inheritance Tax bill after receiving legend’s iconic 1966 medal
Jack Charlton’s son claims that he faces a £200,000 Inheritance Tax blow if he wants to keep hold of his father’s precious World Cup winner’s medal from 1966.
John Charlton was bequeathed the award in his father’s will but he has to leave it with his mother Pat – or pay up if he wants it.
His father started at centre-back as England beat West Germany 4-2 in the World Cup final before dying aged 85 in 2020 after suffering from lymphoma and dementia.
Jack, the older brother of fellow England legend Bobby, also went on to manage Ireland and lead them to two World Cups, even reaching the quarter-finals in 1990.
Son John told talkSPORT: ‘I think there’s only him and my uncle Bobby who have kept their medals. Everybody else doesn’t have them anymore.
‘There’s a bit of a problem with it, actually.
Jack Charlton (pictured) bequeathed his World Cup winner’s medal to his son John – but he may face a huge tax bill to keep it
Jack seen playing for England in the 1996 World Cup final against West Germany at Wembley
Jack Charlton and his brother Bobby kept their medals – other players donated or sold them
‘When I say I’ve got it, it was left to me in my dad’s will, but the tax man wants £200,000 off me in Inheritance Tax.
‘I’ve given it back to my mother because whilst she’s got it, I don’t have to pay that money.
‘There’s a journalist from the Daily Mirror who’s been working on it and helping us to try and sort it, but the same applies to Olympic gymnasts and people like that.
‘If they decide to sell their gold medals, they’re going to have to pay. Their family, sorry, pass it on, they’re going to have to pay Inheritance Tax on that. This is something that they’ve been trying to sort out.
‘I’ve got his shirt. Well, we’ve got his shirt as well. His shirt and his medal are in a safe place, tucked away.
‘And the England cap that he got because he only got one cap for the tournament and that’s the only cap that he left. He gave the rest away.’
The £200,000 figure is disputed, mostly due to a Daily Mirror article in 2024, when John told the publication that HMRC valued his father’s medal and kit at a collective £100,000-£200,000, and wanted £80,000 in tax.
John has previously called for Labour to abolish Inheritance Tax, calling it ‘scandalous’.
There are tax exemptions which can, for example, apply to medals from the armed forces, but not the heroes of 1966.
John told the Daily Mirror: ‘I think it is only my dad and uncle Bobby who have not sold theirs. I wonder what would happen if I said that I could not afford the tax on it. Would the Government take my dad’s medal from me?’
Born in the coal-mining village of Ashington, Northumberland, in 1935, Jack was the eldest of four brothers and his father was a miner. The siblings at one point shared the same bed because of the family’s tight finances.
He went on to play for Leeds United with distinction for 21 years, winning the First Division and the FA Cup.
In July 2020, he passed away at his Northumberland home, leaving behind his wife Pat and children John, Debbie, and Peter.
Credit: Daily Mail
