Otley Golf Club

A popular question we get asked is ‘Can you deduct corporate golf expenses when you’re a business owner?’ The answer would depend on how you book your corporate golf! ‘Yes’, if you book though Corporate Golf Clubs and ‘No’ if book direct because golf is seen as a ‘taxable benefit in kind’. In normal circumstances the golf membership can go through your business – however this doesn’t necessarily mean it will save you corporation tax. How you use the membership will determine how or if it saves you any tax. There are commonly 3 ways you can use the membership, which we explore below:

A Benefit for Staff – with this option the membership will be used for your employees to enjoy being a member of your chosen club. This includes use by directors too. This needs to be available for all employees and it will be a benefit in kind (BIK) which means would all have to pay extra income tax – and your Company would have to pay extra National Insurance. This is then fully deductible for corporation tax purposes.

For Entertaining Clients – if you are looking to use the membership as a way to entertain clients, have client meetings etc then this will go in the accounts as client entertaining. It will reduce your profit on your profit and loss. But, will be added back on when calculating corporation tax, so it won’t reduce your tax bill.

A Bit of Both – or you can mix and match both of the above.

So how does corporate golf club golf be any different? One of the big benefits of booking your golf via corporate golf clubs, is that you are purchasing advertising (which is tax deductible) and we provide back the golf for free as a ‘thank you’ for your support. This means 100% of your invoice will be tax deductible as we bill your company as advertising, resulting from anything from additional 30% to 50% more reduction off your total overall price of your sponsorship.