Golf membership

Deducting your golf membership is possible, but not without risk

Golf is considered the sport for business people, so the link with tax deductibility is quickly made. Yet it’s not that easy to pay for your golf membership with your business card and put everything through as expenses.

It all depends on how work-related your golf activities really are.

Golf as representation or relaxation?

A golf membership quickly raises questions with the tax authorities. Is it relaxation or really work-related? The basic rule is clear: only costs you incur to obtain or maintain taxable income are deductible.

If it’s purely relaxation, your golf membership is not deductible. If you can demonstrate that golf is important for meeting clients and expanding your network, your membership costs may be partially deductible, but under strict conditions.

💡 Tip: keep an annual file on who you meet at the golf club. Add evidence such as emails and other communication. That makes it much easier to prove the professional nature of the membership.

A golf club membership is a representation cost 

Either way, your membership is never fully deductible. It is a representation cost, which means the costs are only 50% tax-deductible.

But even 50% is actually hard to justify. There will always be days when you go to the golf club purely for fun. 

So make a reasonable estimate of when you hit a few balls for pleasure and when you meet business contacts. 

Suppose you go with business partners half of the time: then you can consider 50% of the golf membership as business. Of that 50%, only half is tax-deductible. That comes down to a tax deduction of 25%.

Is the VAT on a golf membership deductible?

No, under Belgian law the VAT on reception and representation costs such as a golf membership is in principle never deductible.

Always contact an accountant or tax expert to look at your personal situation and options.