Personal trainers and fitness professionals operate one of Australia's most common sole-trader businesses, yet their bookkeeping raises a specific set of questions — particularly around the GST status of their services, the treatment of gym licence fees, home office deductions, and equipment located at client premises. This guide addresses each area with reference to the relevant legislation.
Gym Licence Fees: The Cost of Operating Inside a Commercial Gym
Independent personal trainers operating inside a commercial gym typically pay the gym a licence fee — a weekly or monthly charge for the right to use the gym's floor space, equipment, and facilities to service their own clients. Common structures include a flat weekly fee or a percentage of the PT's revenue generated from sessions at that facility.
Tax treatment:
- The licence fee is a deductible operating expense under s.8-1 of the ITAA 1997. It is an expense incurred in producing assessable income.
- The gym charges GST on the licence fee — the gym is making a taxable supply of commercial premises and equipment access. The PT claims an ITC on the GST component (if the PT is GST-registered).
- For a PT earning $120,000 annually in training fees with gym licence costs of $15,000 per year ($288 per week), the $13,636 net cost (after ITC) is deductible.
Where the PT has a revenue-share licence (e.g., paying 25% of session revenue to the gym), the gym should be issuing a tax invoice (or recipient-created tax invoice if agreed in writing) each period detailing the amount. Ensure these are captured in the books — month-end accruals are appropriate if the invoice arrives late.
GST on Personal Training Services
Personal training services are taxable supplies at 10% GST. The GST-free health services exemption in s.38-10 of the GST Act specifically applies to services provided by registered health practitioners — defined by reference to the Health Practitioner Regulation National Law Act 2009 (National Law). The National Law registers practitioners in 16 professions including medicine, physiotherapy, occupational therapy, psychology, and chiropractic.
Personal trainers are not registered under the National Law. Fitness Australia registration and Exercise & Sports Science Australia (ESSA) accreditation are industry body recognitions, not statutory registrations. This means:
- All personal training session fees carry GST at 10%
- Online coaching programs carry GST
- Group fitness classes carry GST
- Nutrition coaching (where provided by the PT as part of a fitness program, not as a registered dietitian) carries GST
Any PT with annual turnover exceeding $75,000 must register for GST and charge 10% on all services. PTs below the threshold may choose to register voluntarily (beneficial if they have significant input costs with GST).
Equipment: Home Gym vs. Client-Site Equipment
Equipment at the PT's own facility (or home gym used exclusively for business):
A purpose-built home gym used solely for training clients — not for the PT's personal fitness — is a capital asset of the business. The cost is depreciated under the capital allowance provisions (Div 40, ITAA 1997). For small business entities (turnover under $10 million), the instant asset write-off threshold (as legislated from time to time) may apply, allowing an immediate deduction rather than depreciation over the asset's effective life.
ITC on equipment purchase: If the PT is GST-registered, the full ITC is claimable on equipment used exclusively for the business.
Equipment located at a client's premises:
A PT who purchases equipment (dumbbells, resistance bands, a squat rack) and installs it permanently at a client's home or corporate gym raises a more complex analysis:
- If the PT retains legal ownership and the equipment is part of their service delivery, the capital cost is deductible (depreciated or expensed under instant asset write-off provisions).
- If the equipment is effectively gifted or permanently assigned to the client, the cost may not be deductible as an operating expense — it could be a capital outgoing with no deduction (as the PT no longer uses it to generate income).
- The ITC position mirrors the income tax analysis: if the equipment ceases to be used for the PT's taxable supplies, the ITC clawed back under the GST adjustment provisions may apply.
Document the arrangement in writing. If the equipment remains the PT's asset used to service that client relationship, the deductibility and ITC position is straightforward.
Home Office Deductions
Most personal trainers use a home office for programming, client communication, invoicing, and professional development. The ATO allows a deduction for home office costs under two methods:
Fixed-rate method (ATO PS LA 2023): $0.70 per hour for each hour worked from home. This covers energy expenses, internet usage, stationery, and depreciation of general office equipment. The PT must keep a contemporaneous record of hours worked from home — either a diary or time-tracking records. The fixed rate does not cover mobile phone costs, which are claimed separately.
Actual cost method: The PT calculates the actual cost of electricity, internet, insurance (home contents, occupier's liability), and where the room is used exclusively for work, occupancy costs (rent or mortgage interest and rates). Each cost is apportioned based on the floor area of the dedicated work space as a proportion of total home floor area, further adjusted by the time proportion during which the work space is used for income-producing activity.
For a PT earning $150,000 in training fees who spends 15 hours per week on admin and programming at home, the fixed-rate deduction is approximately $546 per year ($0.70 × 15 × 52). The actual cost method is likely to produce a larger deduction where a dedicated room is used and the PT can support the claim with utility bills and floor-plan measurements.
The Personal Fitness Deduction Question
Personal trainers frequently ask whether their own gym memberships, personal training sessions with other coaches, or fitness equipment for personal use are deductible. The ATO's position is clear:
Maintaining your own fitness is a private activity — even if a certain level of fitness is required to perform personal training services. The ATO does not accept that a personal trainer's own gym membership is a necessary work expense simply because physical fitness is relevant to their profession. This is because maintaining personal fitness is a benefit that serves the person regardless of whether they work as a PT.
The leading principles are set out in the ATO's guidance on work-related expenses (and confirmed in numerous Private Binding Rulings). There is no deduction for:
- The PT's own gym membership
- Equipment used for the PT's own training
- Supplements consumed personally
By contrast, a competitor PT who enters fitness competitions as a form of marketing and business development may have a different argument — but this is fact-specific and should not be assumed without seeking a Private Binding Ruling if the amounts are material.
End-of-Period Checklist
- Gym licence fees expensed and ITC claimed; recipient-created tax invoice (RCTI) agreement in place where the gym issues invoices based on revenue-share
- All personal training income coded as taxable supply with GST at 10%; verify no misclassification as GST-free health services
- Equipment at PT's facility: depreciation schedule updated or instant asset write-off applied; ITC claimed on purchase
- Equipment at client sites: ownership documented; confirm PT retains ownership and the asset remains in use for business
- Home office method selected (fixed-rate or actual cost); working hours log or floor-plan documentation on file
- Personal fitness costs excluded from deductions; only genuine business-purpose fitness costs (e.g., CPD with fitness component) claimed
- Professional development (CPD from Fitness Australia or ESSA): deductible; ITC claimed if provider charges GST
- Superannuation: self-employed PT can claim personal super contributions as a deduction under s.290-150 ITAA 1997 (after lodging a notice of intent to claim with the super fund)