YOUR COMMUNITY AMATEUR
SPORTS CLUB STATUS
CAN YOU MEET NEW REQUIREMENTS FROM APRIL 2015?
MAJOR CHANGES FOR COMMUNITY AMATEUR SPORTS CLUBS
The rules governing the requirements to qualify as a Community Amateur Sports Club (“CASC”) have
been substantially amended by HMRC (following consultation with clubs and sporting bodies) and
the new provisions will come into force on 1 April 2015.
For amateur sports clubs, the CASC provisions provide approximately £100m a year of funding in the
form of exemptions from corporation tax and business rates. The CASC status also allows clubs to
receive donations from individuals with the benefit of Gift Aid and also, from 1 April 2014,,
donations from companies can be received tax free by the CASC.
From the 1st April 2015, the new CASC rules will officially come into force. Existing CASCs will have
12 months from that date to either make any changes needed to remain within the rules or
deregister as a CASC.
WHAT ARE THE KEY CHANGES?
•
Clubs with annual base membership fees of more than £520 will need to provide new affordable
membership options to persons on low incomes.
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Clubs charging more than £1,612 for an annual membership fee will not be able to qualify.
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At least 50% of members of the CASC should be actively participating in the sport.
•
Clubs generating more than £100,000 a year of turnover from trading income must adapt their
corporate structures to remain within the CASC rules! This turnover includes income from
functions, bar sales, catering sales and fees paid by visitors such as green fees.
•
Clubs will have a total limit of £10,000 to pay players
WILL YOUR CLUB COMPLY WITH THE NEW RULES? IF NOT, DO YOU
KNOW WHAT CHANGES NEED TO BE MADE?
WHAT NEW ISSUES SHOULD EVERY
CASC CONSIDER?
 Are your standard membership fees
below £520 a year?
 Do you generate more than £100,000 a
year of trading income from all sources
including visitors fees, catering, bar,
sponsorship, advertising and other
trading sources?
 Are the majority of people who use your facilities
individual visitors, visiting parties or social
members?
 Can you prove that the majority of your members
actually participate in the sport?
 Do the totals paid to all players in your club,
including benefits, exceed £10,000?
HOW CAN WE HELP YOUR CLUB TO STAY IN THE CASC REGIME…
We have already assisted clubs across a range of sports to understand what they need to do to
comply with the rules, to communicate the changes to their members and then implement those
changes!
We think CASCs perform a key community service and we want our local CASCs to thrive. We have
developed a range of cost effective services which will enable you to be confident your club is
meeting the new rules after April 2015.
OUR NEW CASC SERVICES
Free Review: If you would just like to know how the rules will impact on your club
•
We will review your clubs accounts and membership structure, free of charge, to advise you
how the new rules may affect your club.
•
If we believe you should take steps to amend your club structure or constitution, we will advise
you based on our initial free review.
If you need to change the structure of your club
•
Having performed the free review of your clubs finances and structure, if we think you should
change the clubs financial or corporate structure, we can help you understand how those
changes can be implemented.
•
We will produce a report that you can share with your members, which sets out how the new
structure will look and what the changes mean for them.
•
We will advise you on a “line by line” basis of the income and expenditure which you can keep
in your CASC, and which items should be transferred into the new structure and why.
We will obtain a clearance from HMRC to give you confidence that the new structure will meet
the CASC provisions and deadlines.
We will identify the payroll tax and VAT implications of implementing a new structure and
advise if any new VAT registrations or payroll changes are needed.
•
•
•
We will work with your existing lawyers and advisers to help ensure that the new structure is
implemented so that your club’s CASC status is retained.
THE RULES ARE MORE COMPLEX, SO WHY REMAIN A CASC?
We would strongly recommend that clubs who can make changes to remain within the CASC rules aim
to do so. The provisions provide significant tax benefits and ceasing to be a CASC could cost your club
a significant amount.
Keeping your CASC status will give your club the following benefits:
 Access to additional fundraising via Gift Aid from individual donations and use of the new corporate
donations rules which could encourage more businesses to invest in your club.
 Keeping your automatic 80% business rate savings.
 Maintaining Corporation Tax exemptions on any trading or rental profits and the Capital Gains Tax
exemption (which can be very important if you are planning on selling any land in the future).
HOW ELSE CAN WE HELP YOUR CLUB?
•
Advising you on how to maximise Gift Aid opportunities by structuring equipment donations, certain
expenses and even club events so that they qualify for Gift Aid.
•
Advising you on how a simple change to your corporate structure to become a “community based”
organisation could enable you to raise substantial funds for new projects in a tax efficient manner.
•
Advising you on how adoption of new accounting software can make running your club simpler and
with greater transparency of key information .
•
Providing cost effective payroll solutions which enable your club to be confident that your payroll taxes
are being operated correctly.
•
Provision of Wealth Management services to ensure that any cash balances or investments retained by
the club are managed pro-actively and that investment returns are managed.
IF YOU WOULD LIKE FURTHER INFORMATION OR TO TALK TO ONE OF OUR
CASC SPECIALISTS PLEASE GET IN TOUCH!
•
•
Contact us on 0191
285club
0321
or email
Advising you on how adoption of new accounting software can make running your
simpler
and
with greater transparency of key information .
alastair.wilson@tait
Providing cost effective payroll solutions which enable your club to be confident
that your payroll taxes
walker.co.uk
are being operated correctly.
•
Provision of Wealth Management services to ensure that any cash balances or investments retained by
the club are managed pro-actively and that investment returns are managed.
Alastair Wilson
Partner
Nigel Smith
VAT Specialist
Sara Andrews
Tax Specialist