GAA director general Tom Ryan has warned that existing practices around the payment of expenses to inter-county management teams would have to change amid recent investigations by the Revenue Commission.
In the GAA's annual financial report, Ryan confirmed that revenue commissioners were examining the revenue self-assessments made by 23 county committees, saying that it was expected that a small number of on-site reviews by Revenue may be required to determine their accuracy.
"The reviews to date have highlighted a clear pattern of payments made in all counties which may pose a tax risk under the current tax code. These include the provision of team holidays," Ryan wrote in the report.
An exposure of €2.3 million had been declared for the years 2021 to 2024, with a further provision estimate has been made in each county's accounts for 2025.
Ryan wrote: "The position of the Revenue Commissioners is very clear: Any expense payment made to a person acting in a voluntary capacity in carrying out their role within a county cannot exceed approved civil service rate and all such expense claims must be properly documented, approved and fully receipted.
"This position fully aligns with the association's own official guide but the reality of what is taking place in clubs and counties is very different. The way forward is clear - either existing payments practices or GAA rules need to change."
Ryan acknowledged that there was strong support for the retention of existing expense-only rules, however he said actual practices hadn't accorded with the rules.
"And unless future practices align with our stated rules this outcome will not be worth the paper it's written on."
Ryan wrote that the GAA had proposed a centralised online system for the management of inter-county management team expenses but that uptake had been "underwhelming".
Elsewhere, the director general noted that the financial health of individual county boards had improved significantly in 2025.
Collectively, annual income of counties had increased by 12% to €112m, with gate receipts increasing €2.8m to €19m. Ryan cited the impact of the split season and the FRC rule changes as key factors accounting for the rise.
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