Can a gym membership be a business expense?

If you’re self-employed there are many expenses that you can put through your business, but only if you can show that they are wholly and exclusively for use in the business. “Wholly and exclusively” is the test HMRC apply to business expenses and you have to show that you wouldn’t have this expense if it weren’t for your business.

So if you were employed as a fitness instructor, personal trainer or similar then it may be possible for you to deduct this, or at least part of this expense. For most other professions this is not a deductible expense as it’s unlikely to be needed for your business.

There’s a grey area where actors are concerned, but even then as an actor you’d need to prove that you needed the membership for your job. So, for example, if you had a role where you had to gain a lot of muscle quickly or lose a lot of weight quickly, then you might be able to claim back part of it for the duration of the role. You wouldn’t be able to claim back a membership on an ongoing basis though, unless you could prove that you wouldn’t be going to the gym if it weren’t for your job.