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The Competitive Balance Tax (CBT) threshold will be $230M in 2022, $233M in 2023, $237M in 2024, $241M in 2025, and $244M in 2026.
CALCULATING A CLUB'S COMPETITIVE BALANCE TAX (CBT) LIABILITY:
For the purpose of calculating a club's CBT liability, a club's MLB payroll consists of the Average Annual Value (AAV) of player salaries and bonuses earned by players on the club's MLB Reserve List (40-man roster) and MLB 60-day Injured List.
CoViD-19 EXCEPTION: A club's 2020 MLB payroll is the value of the aggregate contracts prior to salaries being pro-rated due to the truncated season.
In addition, MLB Player Benefit Costs (PBC) and the AAV of "legacy salaries" paid to players who are no longer on the club's MLB 40-man roster (such as a player who has been released or outrighted to the minors, or who is being paid a deferred salary after becoming a free-agent) are considered to be part of the club's payroll when calculating the CBT.
FINANCIAL PENALTIES FOR EXCEEDING COMPETITIVE BALANCE TAX:
A club whose payroll from the just-concluded MLB season exceeded the Competitive Balance Tax (CBT) threshold by any amount up to $20M will pay a 20% tax on the portion of the payroll that exceeded the CBT threshold, or a 30% tax on the portion of the payroll from the just concluded MLB season in excess of the threshold up to $20M for any club that also exceeded the threshold the season prior to the just concluded season, or a 50% tax on the portion of the payroll from the just-concluded MLB season in excess of the threshold up to $20M for any club that also exceeded the threshold in the two seasons prior to the just completed season.
A club whose payroll from the just-concluded MLB season exceeded the CBT threshold by more than $20M up to $40M will pay an additional surcharge of 32% on the portion of the club's payroll from the just concluded MLB season in excess of $20M up to $40M over the threshold, or an additional surcharge of 42% on the portion of the club's payroll from the just concluded MLB season in excess of $20M up to $40M for any club that was also over the threshold in the season prior to the just concluded season, or an additional surcharge of 62% on the portion of the club's payroll from the just concluded MLB reason in excess of $20M up to $40M for any club that was also over the threshold for two seasons prior to the just concluded season.
A club whose payroll from the just-concluded MLB season exceeded the CBT threshold by more than $40M up to $60M will pay an additional surcharge of 62.5% on the portion of the club's payroll from the previous season in excess of $40M up to $60M, or an additional surcharge of 75% on the portion of the club's payroll from the previous season in excess of $40M up to $60M for a club that was also over the threshold in the season prior to the just concluded season, or an additional surcharge of 95% on the portion of the club's payroll from the previous season in excess of $40M up to $60M for a club that was also over the threshold for two seasons prior to the just completed season.
A club whose payroll from the just concluded MLB season exceeded the CBT threshold by more than $60M will pay an additional surcharge of 80% for the portion of the payroll in excess of $60M over the CBT threshold, or an additional surcharge of 90% for the portion of the payroll in excess of $60M over the CBT threshold if the club that was also more than $60M over the threshold in the season prior to the just completed season, or an additional surcharge of 110% for the portion of the payroll in excess of $60M if the club was also more than $60M over the threshold in the two seasons prior to the just completed season.