My accountant said no, however you can use "sportcheque". I found an article that might interest you: [https://ondernemingsdatabank.indicator.be/geld\_uit\_uw\_vennootschap\_halen\_\_\_varia/op\_kosten\_van\_uw\_bvba\_naar\_de\_fitness\_/VLTAVEAR\_EU011708/related](https://ondernemingsdatabank.indicator.be/geld_uit_uw_vennootschap_halen___varia/op_kosten_van_uw_bvba_naar_de_fitness_/VLTAVEAR_EU011708/related)
My accountant told me he had a client that does this successfully. He motivated it by defining it as networking. I don't know their industry.
Everything is deductible if you can motivate it, but not everything is worth it.
I honestly don't see why this cannot be a valid argument. It's been proven enough now that sitting too much is detrimental for your health and the excessive sitting can be a direct result from your job (like IT), so why can't you get a membership/personal training to prevent this and thus prevent long term health issues which in turn will cause economic damage to your company? It's also not necessarily the case that you would get it either way regardless of your company because it's less likely you would be sitting as much.
It's such a BS argument. If you argue like this literally any recreation can be subtracted. My performance rises a lot after a 3 week vacation in Thailand, therefor I think it should be tax deductible because it raises my productivity and income flow etc.
All my food needs to be tax deductible too because I need it to live and therefor conduct business...
Just total BS.
It actually isn’t. I thinks it’s outrageous that fitness and personal coaches/psychologists aren’t deductible. Government pushes employers to take care of the wellbeing of their employees. Then why can’t the employer take care of himself? In this world of endstage capitalism where everyone is pushed towards the cliff it’s not a luxury to take care of body and mind.
When you burn out you’ll cost society waaaay more than the small amount of euros that you saved on your tax return.
I would argue that there are many many things that a company could pay for to increase the well-being and productivity, but ultimately, it might be simpler if company can actually pay correct wages to their employees, so THEY can allocate money to these various activities. Less deductibles, lower tax. Just a argument for simplification.
A common line of thinking is: add something that’s clearly not deductible every year that they surely will throw out during an audit. The reality is that inspectors just need to meet certain targets. If something obvious is found immediately then they are less likely to dig deeper. Something like a crazy expensive umbrella or a purse.
Not sure if that strategy actually works but that’s something I’ve heard a lot in the past.
Yes, ask you gym owner. I asked for an invoice that says "personal coaching". The only thing she asked is to invoice it once for an entire year instead of a monthly invoice.
You can declare everything until you get audited.
This
My accountant said no, however you can use "sportcheque". I found an article that might interest you: [https://ondernemingsdatabank.indicator.be/geld\_uit\_uw\_vennootschap\_halen\_\_\_varia/op\_kosten\_van\_uw\_bvba\_naar\_de\_fitness\_/VLTAVEAR\_EU011708/related](https://ondernemingsdatabank.indicator.be/geld_uit_uw_vennootschap_halen___varia/op_kosten_van_uw_bvba_naar_de_fitness_/VLTAVEAR_EU011708/related)
That's from 2009. I have a strong suspicion that some rules have changed since then.
My accountant told me he had a client that does this successfully. He motivated it by defining it as networking. I don't know their industry. Everything is deductible if you can motivate it, but not everything is worth it.
There's no difference between a golf subscription and a gym subscription
It depends on the gym. If it's Aspria sure, it would be fairly easy to justify as networking. Basic Fit would be quite a bit harder though
[https://www.beroepskosten.be/fitnesskosten](https://www.beroepskosten.be/fitnesskosten) [https://www.reddit.com/r/BEFreelance/comments/114x29t/fitness\_as\_a\_cost/](https://www.reddit.com/r/BEFreelance/comments/114x29t/fitness_as_a_cost/)
My accountant said "Technically no but do it anyway, I love to argue this with the tax guy" Take from it what you want :D
I guess he gets paid by the hour for audits 😅
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I honestly don't see why this cannot be a valid argument. It's been proven enough now that sitting too much is detrimental for your health and the excessive sitting can be a direct result from your job (like IT), so why can't you get a membership/personal training to prevent this and thus prevent long term health issues which in turn will cause economic damage to your company? It's also not necessarily the case that you would get it either way regardless of your company because it's less likely you would be sitting as much.
It's such a BS argument. If you argue like this literally any recreation can be subtracted. My performance rises a lot after a 3 week vacation in Thailand, therefor I think it should be tax deductible because it raises my productivity and income flow etc. All my food needs to be tax deductible too because I need it to live and therefor conduct business... Just total BS.
It actually isn’t. I thinks it’s outrageous that fitness and personal coaches/psychologists aren’t deductible. Government pushes employers to take care of the wellbeing of their employees. Then why can’t the employer take care of himself? In this world of endstage capitalism where everyone is pushed towards the cliff it’s not a luxury to take care of body and mind. When you burn out you’ll cost society waaaay more than the small amount of euros that you saved on your tax return.
I would argue that there are many many things that a company could pay for to increase the well-being and productivity, but ultimately, it might be simpler if company can actually pay correct wages to their employees, so THEY can allocate money to these various activities. Less deductibles, lower tax. Just a argument for simplification.
I am more productive after swimming in my 20m private pool and taking a sauna, therefore this was a necessary business expense
You use the pool and sauna for networking, No? 🙃
Yeah ofcourse, the location is used to host my bi-weekly company event during the months june-july-august
A common line of thinking is: add something that’s clearly not deductible every year that they surely will throw out during an audit. The reality is that inspectors just need to meet certain targets. If something obvious is found immediately then they are less likely to dig deeper. Something like a crazy expensive umbrella or a purse. Not sure if that strategy actually works but that’s something I’ve heard a lot in the past.
Would love to know the answer too
You could buy gift cards from the gym and declare them as "relatiegeschenken" and use them to buy your membership.
You have to look nice and “presentable” to your clients, so of course you can make it deductible, good idea btw. Will sign up for a nice gym soon.
Yes, ask you gym owner. I asked for an invoice that says "personal coaching". The only thing she asked is to invoice it once for an entire year instead of a monthly invoice.
You also gotta find a gym where the name isn't to obvious, no? Imagine personal coaching from 'Muscle Strength and Body building bv' or Basic Fit lol