Red Threshold
The Red Threshold is the Premier League's hard limit under SCR — the Green Threshold of 85% plus the club's own allowance, which starts at 30% and can shrink after a breach.
Also called
red line
115% threshold
upper limit
Every Premier League club begins with a 30% allowance on top of the 85% Green Threshold, giving a Red Threshold of 115% for 2026/27. Between the two lines a club pays a levy; above the Red Threshold it faces a points deduction.
The 115% figure is not fixed. The Red Threshold is 85% plus whatever allowance the club currently holds, and the allowance moves through the Feedback Loop. A club ratcheted down to a 10% allowance has a 95% ceiling.
That means two clubs at the same ratio can be in different zones. Spending at 105% is amber for a club on the full allowance and red for a club whose allowance has been cut.
The Championship has no Red Threshold at all. It uses an owner equity top-up instead of a buffer band.
Related terms
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Definitions summarise published EFL and Premier League regulations in plain English; they are
not legal advice and not a substitute for the rulebooks themselves.
Last reviewed 2026-09-10.
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