Gym Membership Tax Deductible Uk, Is a corporate gym membership tax

Gym Membership Tax Deductible Uk, Is a corporate gym membership tax deductible? It all depends. a director’s home. Club membership is mainly a personal and social matter, giving rise to amenities and privileges limited to members. The House recently passed a bill that allows gym memberships purchased for medical purposes to be deducted from taxable income. In Feb 9, 2026 · This guide will explore whether you can claim gym memberships as a tax deduction in the UK. For most other professions this is not a deductible expense as it’s unlikely to be needed for your business. Is a gym membership tax deductible for business in the UK? Explore eligibility, consequences, and advice from accountants. A colleague told you that a recent ruling by a Tribunal means that you might be entitled to claim a tax deduction for your gym membership. The cost is not incurred in the performance of the duties of the employment. Learn key strategies, such as detailed invoicing and recording business-related visits, to optimize tax deductions. For example, if an employer pays for a golf club’s green fees for a member of staff, the individual can use the club for their own leisure purposes in addition to any business-related use (eg client entertainment). With salary sacrifice: You sacrifice £1,000 gross salary, and your employer pays for your gym membership. Tax and reporting rules for employers providing sporting, recreational or leisure facilities Unfortunately, membership of local sports or fitness clubs is not generally tax-free as they are open to the public too. In addition, you are charged 40% tax on the £1,000 taxable benefit of the gym membership provided by your employer, costing you £400. Aug 7, 2025 · In general, gym membership fees are not considered a tax-deductible business expense in the UK unless certain conditions are met. Learn how Profit First can help plan for health and wellness investments. His self-assessment return for the tax year 2016/17 included a claim to the cost of his gym membership (£21 per month), in addition to his expenses in travelling to and from the gym and his weekly outdoor exercise. If your business pays for gym membership for employees (including directors) it can claim a tax deduction for the expense. Additionally, employees can save up to 8% National Insurance. We're just a click away! Reach out to us more information. Jan 1, 2026 · For most self-employed individuals, gym membership fees cannot be claimed as a tax-deductible business expense in the UK. 2 Providing your own tax-free recreational or sports facilities: A guide for UK business-owners on paying for gym membership(s) through a limited company. If you have a pre-existing gym membership, it is not deductible as a tax expense. Find out which work-related expenses are eligible for tax relief and how to claim them. Since April 2017 providing free or subsidised gym membership to your employees can no longer be treated as a tax free benefit. Jul 7, 2025 · Whether it’s looking after your health, your team’s wellbeing, or just using your company funds efficiently, there are ways to structure these costs so you can claim up to 25% back via Corporation Tax relief – and keep everything HMRC-compliant. The UK’s tax system is set up to allow employees to easily access discounts – negotiated on their behalf by you – through a deduction of their net pay. You have 1 gym membership and £20 You cannot claim for: payments to political parties gym membership fees donations to charity - but you may be able to claim for sponsorship payments The UK’s tax system is set up to allow employees to easily access discounts – negotiated on their behalf by you – through a deduction of their net pay. We’ll delve into the specific circumstances where it might be possible, the rules you need to know, and the types of evidence you’ll need to support your claim. Any suggestion that the cost of membership of a club is deductible as a Find out if you can claim gym memberships, yoga or other wellbeing costs. g. Established in 2001, Incorpore continues This handy tax guide for self employed personal trainers covers all the expenses you can claim to reduce your tax bill, and more. You must: report the cost on form P11D deduct and pay Class 1 National Insurance (but not PAYE tax) through payroll If your employee pays fees but you reimburse them This counts as earnings. To calculate the value of the benefit, the cost paid by you should be divided equally among the employees for whom membership has been paid. An exemption for employer-provided “recreational benefits” can apply to a gym but not where it’s located in a dwelling, e. Private membership of a sporting club, etc. Some things cannot be apportioned […] The payment by an employer of a third-party gym membership for employees is a taxable benefit and should be reported on a P11D, or by payrolling the benefit. So this means there is more money left in the company for you to take at a later date. Who is right? TAXtv’s Giles Mooney and Tim Good tackle two questions from the pages of Any Answers. Learn when gym memberships can be deducted as a business expense, including IRS rules, exceptions, and documentation tips. Where an employer pays for a gym membership and the employee contributes towards the cost from their net pay (after tax and NICs), this is referred to as ‘making good’. Learn if you pay tax on gym memberships. The following Employment Tax guidance note provides comprehensive and up to date tax information on Club membership The taxable benefit means that the gym membership is subject to income tax at the employees marginal rate (so basic rate taxpayers will pay 20% and higher rate taxpayers will pay 40% on their gym memberships), and the company will also have to pay Class 1A NIC at 13. Discover how your business can pay for gym memberships and other fitness expenses while staying tax-efficient. The cost of a home gym would be tax deductible for the company. This would wipe out the tax advantage. GymFlex is a product provided by Incorpore. Your company will also get a tax deduction for the cost of the whole gym membership. Discover Medicare Advantage plans with gym benefits, and find budget-friendly fitness options for seniors. Tax and reporting rules for employers providing sporting, recreational or leisure facilities Employers can also benefit from offering gym memberships through tax deductions and improved employee health. The first looks at putting a gym membership through the company as a BIK, while the second asks about extending a year-end to allow for further employer pension contributions Explore HMRC's perspective on deducting club memberships (like Soho House, David Lloyd's) for business purposes in the UK. The government introduced Cycle to Work in 1999 - an annual tax exemption that allows you to loan bicycles and cycle safety equipment to employees as a tax-free benefit. In general, gym membership fees are not considered a tax-deductible business expense in the UK unless certain conditions are met. However, you may be hard-pushed to convince the tax man about a clear apportionment of your gym membership. These all the circumstances that would allow you to write off purchases as personal training tax-deductible expenses. Find out if you could claim the cost of training as an allowable business expense if you are a self-employed individual. If you fall into any of these professional categories, then by all means you should put the gym membership on the business expense list. . Additionally, employees can save up to 12% Other occupations such as actors, models, ballet dancers, fitness instructors, athletes as well as similar professions can claim their gym membership as a business expense for justifiable reasons. Search over 3,700 gyms across the UK and Ireland. In this instance, claiming it as a tax-deductible expense will guarantee that you’re not paying even more money following the end of the tax year. HMRC’s rules on what’s tax deductible - and what is just a personal expense. 8% on this amount each year that the membership is active. Jan 21, 2026 · Can you claim gym membership tax relief through your business? We explain HMRC rules, benefits in kind, and the true cost for directors. Can Personal Trainers Claim For Gym Membership Fees? If you’re self-employed and provide professional personal training services at a gym, it can be claimed as an allowable expense, providing you don’t use the gym for your own personal exercise. So now you can prove that Gym 1 is ‘wholly and exclusively’ for the purpose of your business because you train yourself elsewhere, meaning the membership cost for Gym 1 is 100% tax deductible since you gain no personal benefit from being a member there, it’s 100% for the purpose of training clients to run your business. We’ll also walk you through key considerations for sole traders and limited companies. Discounted annual gym memberships via Salary Sacrifice or Net Pay Deductions. The amount of the benefit (cost of gym membership) is reduced by the amount of the contribution. This means that these athletes are entitled to deduct a range of expenses incurred in earning the trading profits of their professional activities subject to the normal rules of deductibility of So if you were employed as a fitness instructor, personal trainer or similar then it may be possible for you to deduct this, or at least part of this expense. Below is an overview of the rules regarding the deductibility of gym membership fees. Find out if you can claim gym membership as a business expense, including exceptions for certain occupations. GymFlex provides discounted annual gym memberships via Salary Deductions. Jun 1, 2025 · This article will help you understand what the UK tax laws say about deducting gym membership costs and when – if ever – it’s possible to include them as a business expense. Understanding these nuances and consulting with a tax professional can help individuals and businesses effectively navigate the complexities of claiming gym memberships as business expenses. GymFlex is an amalgamation of many of the UK's leading gym chains, leisure centres, hotel health clubs, independent gyms, boot camps and yoga studios who are committed to supplying us with corporate annual membership rates. Workers can spend up to three-quarters of their day sat down, which contributes to a range of preventable health conditions, including the two leading causes of workplace absence: back injuries and stress, depression or anxiety. In addition, the National Insurance paid by the company on the value on the benefit in kind gets tax relief. Though they are offered through work and regular exercise could certainly be seen as beneficial for the health of the workforce, HMRC does not recognise gym memberships as business expenses that are necessary for work performance. A limited company can provide a benefit in kind such as gym membership, but it should be offered to staff fairly and there is an implication of benefit in kind tax. Health-screening, check-ups and recommended treatments Corporate membership paid by you You may pay a corporate subscription to sports or recreational facilities for your employees. Tax and reporting rules for employers providing sporting, recreational or leisure facilities If your company pays for your membership of a public gym it can claim a tax deduction for the cost but it would count as a taxable benefit for you. Any contribution from the employee will reduce the benefit reportable. Discover how to claim tax relief on your professional membership fees in the UK, who’s eligible, and how to get money back on subscriptions you’ve already paid for. Expense Basics for Tax Expenses are important, as they reduce your tax bill The law around claiming expenses for the Self Employed is that the expense must be “Wholly and Exclusively” for business. Trade Associations Trade associations funded by annual subscription are normally considered not to be trading Member entitled to a tax deduction for part of the expenditure which would be tax deductible if incurred by them directly Administrative difficulty identifying tax deductible elements for members so Client company is negotiating a special rate with local gym to allow those employees who wish to take up offer to join the gym and use facilities. HMRC considers gym membership to be a personal cost the majority of the time. Considering a Corporate Membership for your business? Discover what you can (and can’t) claim for tax — explained in plain English. Being inactive is taking a significant toll on our health and wellbeing – it’s as dangerous to our health as smoking. is not tax deductible, even if the employee needs to keep fit to work properly. 8% of the cost. When it comes to offering reduced price gym facilities in or near work, there are two options: 2. The cost of the membership fees is the amount subject to tax and NIC. Confusingly something that is both private and business can be apportioned to make it “Wholly and Exclusively”. HMRC takes the view that these costs are a personal lifestyle choice rather than an expense incurred “wholly and exclusively” for the purposes of your business. Understand the tax implications of your fitness journey. This contradicts HMRC’s long-standing guidance. Get expert insights. If an employer meets the cost of a subscription to such a club, there will therefore always be a taxable benefit. I note that Income Tax (Earnings and Pensions) Act 2003 section 261 allows for tax free exemption for provision of recreational/sporting facilities The main downside to offering gym memberships via salary sacrifice is that it provides no income tax savings. The remaining £724 is subject to tax and NI so you take home £420. EIM21696 - Particular benefits: club membership fees An employer may pay a club membership fee for directors or employees in circumstances where it is not chargeable by virtue of Section 62 ITEPA For example: If you're a plumber or chef, a gym membership isn't necessary to perform your job, so it wouldn't be tax-deductible. Learn if does Medicare cover gym memberships. GymFlex is the combination of many of the UK's leading gym chains, leisure centres and health clubs who are committed to supplying us with corporate annual membership rates. If you paid for your staff to join a local club, it would normally have to be treated as a taxable benefit. On the other hand, if you're a professional athlete, personal trainer, or dancer, you could argue that staying fit is essential to your work, making the cost of a gym membership potentially deductible. What are the tax implications of paying for health insurance or gym membership via your limited company? Gym memberships are only deductible in limited cases, and must be both ordinary and necessary to running your business. This is a BIK, and they must pay Income Tax, PRSI and USC on it. When it comes to claiming gym membership as a business expense different rules may apply to certain trades like actors or models. This guide covers sales tax, deductions, and state-by-state variations. This normally counts as a taxable benefit for your employees, with a Class 1A NI cost for your business equal to 13. rck3, ftj72, aicbv, ji9s, ozkk, 2k3c, h1k6, e7sng, wcxw, reil,