Buying fitness equipment
You can claim an immediate deduction for
any work equipment that costs less than
$300. If the item cost more than $300 and
you purchased it between 1 July 2019 and
11 March 2020, you can write off the cost
over the expected life of the asset. This
could include weight sets, TRX, kettlebells,
treadmills, exercise bikes, and other
personal training equipment.
Remember, if you also use the equipment
for your own training, you’ll need to
apportion the cost between work use and
personal use. You can only claim the workrelated
element.
Instant asset write-off
If you own your own fitness business (rather
than being employed by somebody else),
you can write off items of equipment costing
up to $150,000 each immediately (rather than
writing off the cost over the expected life of
the asset) if the equipment was purchased
between 12 March 2020 and 30 June 2020.
Before that date the limit was $30,000 for
equipment purchased between 1 July 2019
and 11 March 2020.
As well as fitness equipment, you can
use the same tax break to write-off any
other capital assets used in your business,
including:
• TV sets and other equipment to build the
ambience in your fitness area
• Furniture for break-out or rest areas
• Office furniture and equipment, like
desks, chairs and cabinets
• Technology such as laptops, desktop
computers, phones and tablets
• Motor vehicles.
Work-related training
You can claim expenses for university or
TAFE fees to the extent that the course
relates to your current employment and
you’re not being reimbursed. For example,
a personal trainer could claim for the cost of
doing a Bachelor of Exercise Science. You
can also claim associated costs such as text
books, travel to the educational institution
and stationery.
As a fitness professional, you need to
undertake ongoing professional development
to keep up to date with the latest practices in
fitness and health, such as completing CEC
courses or attending events like FILEX - even
if they have been online virtual events this
year - so it’s good to note that these costs
will also be deductible to the extent they are
linked to your current job.
You cannot, however, claim for a prevocational
course, such as a Certificate III
in Fitness.
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Other deductions
They may not be as significant in dollar
terms as some of the items listed above, but
make sure you claim the following:
• Any work-related subscriptions or
membership fees (including your
subscription with Australian Fitness
Network)
• Magazines, journals, books, apps or
websites which are related to your work
• The cost of using your personal mobile
phone for work-related purposes
• Equipment hire.
Working from home
As a result of COVID-19, you have probably
had to relocate your working activity from
business premises to your home. If so, you
can claim a rate of 80 cents per work hour
during the crisis, so you will need to keep
a record of the number of hours you have
worked from home as a result of COVID-19.
This will apply from 1 March 2020 until at
least 30 June 2020. The ATO may extend this
period depending on when work patterns
start to return to normal, but any such
extensions will be applicable to the following
tax year.
If you use the 80 cents per hour method,
you can make no other claims in relation to
working from home. So, items like mobile
phone and internet usage are included in the
80-cent rate.
Gym memberships
Your job is to help everybody else improve
their physical fitness so surely it makes sense
that you can claim the cost of boosting your
own fitness? Sadly not. The ATO takes a hard
line on gym memberships, saying that they
are only claimable where the person claiming
them needs to have a level of fitness well
above normal. Professional sportspeople are
quoted by the ATO as an example of who can
make a claim, while personal trainers and
fitness instructors are specifically ruled out.
Remember to keep records!
Even if you’ve incurred any of the above
expenses, the golden rule is that you can’t make
a claim unless you can prove you spent the
money (and also that you weren’t reimbursed
by your employer). So, make sure you keep all
relevant receipts, invoices, bank statements
and credit card statements. If you’re not sure if
you can make a claim, keep the receipt anyway
and discuss it with your tax agent.
Mark Chapman
Mark is the Director of Tax
Communications at H&R Block.
A Chartered Accountant, CPA
and Chartered Tax Adviser, he
holds a Masters of Tax Law
from the University of NSW.
Mark also spent seven years
as a Senior Director with the
Australian Taxation Office.
12 | NETWORK WINTER 2020