Many entrepreneurs wonder whether expenses for gyms, personal training, or other sporting activities can be deducted as tax-deductible expenses. At first glance, it may seem that good fitness, health, and physical fitness influence work efficiency and therefore have an indirect connection to business activity. In practice, however, the approach of tax offices in this regard can be quite restrictive.
Gym and personal trainer and tax costs
As a rule, if the subject of your business activity is not related to sports, expenses for a gym or a personal trainer will most likely not be included in tax costs.
Tax offices generally consider these types of expenses to be personal, arguing that their primary purpose is to protect health, improve physical fitness, well-being, or appearance, and not directly generate business income.
This means that an entrepreneur running, for example, an accounting office, marketing agency, online store, law firm, or consulting business should exercise great caution when trying to include a gym membership or personal training session as business expenses.
What about sports-related activities?
The situation may be different when the business activity is directly related to sports, fitness or physical activity.
This applies, for example, to people who act as:
- professional athletes,
- personal trainers,
- fitness instructors,
- sports instructors,
- people running a business in the wellness or physical activity industry.
In such cases, it's easier to demonstrate a connection between the expense and the activity being performed. A personal trainer or athlete might argue that staying fit, developing skills, motor skills, or utilizing specialized support are all part of their profession.
In practice, tax offices are more likely to favor the settlement of personal training expenses if they are genuinely related to sports activities. However, this does not mean automatic approval in every situation.
Gym memberships can still be problematic
It's worth remembering that even in the case of sports activities, gym expenses can be questioned. Tax authorities often consider gym memberships to be personal in nature, as they serve to improve overall health and fitness.
Therefore, each such expense should be well-justified. The more clearly it can be demonstrated that it is related to a specific activity, service provided, or revenue generated, the greater the chance of defending such an expense in the event of an audit.
Each case should be assessed individually
The tax treatment of sports expenses isn't a binary process. The type of business, the method of documenting expenses, their purpose, and their actual relationship to revenue are all important factors.
Therefore, before starting a business or recording such expenses, it's worth discussing the cost list with a tax advisor. This will help avoid a situation where the expense will be questioned by the tax office.
