Reply to: Gym membership

[captainham]

The "shower only" membership is worth a try, they might not be able to comprehend it in their computer system but you never know you might find a human being working there if you try!

And probably more chance of achieving this with an independent gym rather than national chain, I would guess.

[d000hg]

Good argument Wanderer. 30 miles a day is £6 and that should cover gym membership.

A bit confused though, if client doesn't have a gym then you'd have to cycle to the gym, have a shower and then cycle some more to work?

The "shower only" membership is worth a try, they might not be able to comprehend it in their computer system but you never know you might find a human being working there if you try!

[LisaContractorUmbrella]

And it's only 4p a mile more if you ride a motorcycle (which costs substantially more to run with insurance and fuel etc) so I think the 20p/mile is supposed to cover the cost of showering at the end of the ride so that's what the OP should claim and pay gym membership out of that...

Quite right

[Wanderer]

You can claim 20p per mile for cycling to work

And it's only 4p a mile more if you ride a motorcycle (which costs substantially more to run with insurance and fuel etc) so I think the 20p/mile is supposed to cover the cost of showering at the end of the ride so that's what the OP should claim and pay gym membership out of that...

[LisaContractorUmbrella]

Well that was a singularly useless post. I realise I can claim for my pants if I want to pay BIK. My question was can I claim it as a legitimate expense, as it is solely and exclusively for business use - I'd be able to claim mileage if I were driving.

I would suggest if you're not sweating after cycling 15 miles, you're not cycling hard enough.

You can claim 20p per mile for cycling to work HM Revenue & Customs: Travel - mileage and fuel allowances. You cannot claim however for the cost of the gym membership:

1. duality of purpose - you would gain a potential personal benefit from the membership which then wipes out the wholly and exclusively argument
2. you chose to travel to work by bicycle - it is not required by the contract that you do so
3. Presumably there are wash basins at work that you could use? Although not as convenient as a shower they would allow you to have a wash

[Contreras]

Not on the defensive at all. My understanding was that expenses were allowable as long as they were 'solely and exclusively for the purposes of the business'.

Q. Would I need to join a gym so I can have a shower if I was not working in location X?
A. No

Therefore is it claimable? Dunno - which I why I asked. Neither Mal's post, nor your 1st post addressed this.

ok I'll bite... at a stretch you could argue it as subsistence, since you're claiming for the travel mileage anyway so it's a business expense.

Same argument as claiming for meals and accommodation - you need food and shelter to survive, but still considered "wholly for business" if associated with valid business travel.

Good luck though... I imagine an HMRC inspector would see the Gym membership and immediately want to slap it down as BiK and ask why it's not on the P11D, and your 'excuse' will be seen as taking the piss then you're just asking for trouble.

[Greg@CapitalCity]

I would go with the HMRC view on gym memberships provided to employees;
EIM21825 - Particular benefits: exemption for sports and recreation facilities: general

As your gym wouldn't be a "qualifying sports facility", and given you want to avoid the P11D scenario, then you might have to wear the cost of this yourself.

[formant]

Get a gym membership for a place that has multiple facilities across the country. Virgin Active for example. That way, although it'll be your expense, you will be able to make more of it than just using it to shower there. Otherwise, considering it is your choice to cycle rather than drive, I doubt you'll stand a chance at getting that through HMRC.

[Murder1]

Personally I pay my gym membership. I did look over 18 months ago at whether or not I could claim it as an expense but given the risk v reward I decided I'd rather pay it than:

a. Flag any unwanted attention to my books either from the accountant or HMRC
b. Not be able to justify it should I get audited.

[d000hg]

Maybe cycle a bit slower.

[BA to the Stars]

Write to your tax office asking them this question, get their response in writing and then you have the necessary evidence (either way) in the event of any investigation. At least you will have an official answer from the one area that will matter in this situation i.e. HMRC and not just a thread contributed to by strangers from an internet forum.

The downside may be to put you on their radar.

[Sockpuppet]

Is there not a Leisure center near by? Or could you ask them to mark your membership as "shower only" so you can sort of prove that you didn't use it to do some weights.

[northernladuk]

Just to add, how much are you really going to save by doing this. Is it worth it for the extra attention? I doubt it.

[Jessica@WhiteFieldTax]

There are no rights and wrongs.

You need to be able to justify the expense to HMRC as wholly/exclusively/necessarily if they ever audit you. Only you can do that. Its not impossible, but its fair to say they will start from the position that you are trying a fast one.

You may need to justify the expense to your accountant, otherwise they may be making a POCA suspicion report.

Either way the gym contract would need to be in the company name to be safe.

In summary, its possible, but you are starting from a disadvantage.

[b0redom]

If you use shorts and wicking shirt then no sweat. You will not smell if you shower/bath every night. However your muscles will hurt like hell.

You will not be able to claim. But the health benefits should make it worth your while. I just bought waterproof trousers/jacket. Hi Viz.

Got any recommendations? I've got a bunch of Endura stuff for the summers, and for winter I usually use DHB longs and an Endura windproof jacket.

I've not quite managed iron distance like you, but I did a couple of Olympics this year, and hope to have a stab at 1/2 iron next year. I previously did a slightly shorter (couple of miles less), and found that I could only do 4 days a week. It wasn't the distance so much as the constant stress of a hard 50 mins exercise every few hours.