Sporting Clubs

Community Amateur Sports Clubs (CASC)

Clubs are free to apply either to H M Revenue & Customs for tax relief as a community amateur sports club (CASCs), or to the Charity Commission for charitable status. As an alternative to charitable status, there are tax reliefs for CASCs on their income and donations from local people similar to those normally given to charities. The main reliefs are:-

1. Non domestic Rates relief, 80% mandatory relief;
2. Corporation tax relief on:

• Income from interest exempt from tax;
• Rental income up to £30,000 gross rents exempt from tax;
• Trading income where turnover is less than £50,000;
• Disposals exempt from capital gains tax;

3. Gift relief similar to charities except that subscriptions may not be treated as a gift;
4. Inheritance tax relief on gifts;
There are a number of conditions to be complied with before HMRC will register a club and additional eligibility rules were introduced by HMRC from 1st April 2015. The major conditions currently are:

a) CASCs must not restrict membership to any section of the community and they should be open to men, women, ethnic minorities and the disabled, without reservation Membership must be open to all without discrimination.

b) The club’s facilities must be available to all members without discrimination.

c) The costs associated with membership must not exceed more than £31 per week, £1,612 per annum as it would not be considered open to the whole community.

d) Members cannot receive income distributions from the club nor assets on winding up which must go to certain specified bodies.

e) The club must be organised on an amateur basis; the payment of players for playing is only allowed up to £10,000 per year in total for all players.

f) The club’s taxable trading and rental income must not exceed £100,000pa.

g) 50% of the members must participate in sporting activities.

H M Revenue & Customs will perform a detail review of the club rules and usually require amendments to the clubs constitution.