Payments to amateur players and volunteers

Q: What does this look like in practice?

Illustration only. Priya drives for a community transport charity and, in 2026 to 2027, also drives players to away fixtures for her son's club. Across both she drives 12,000 miles and receives 50 pence a mile, so £6,000 in total. The tax free amount is 10,000 miles at 55 pence (£5,500) plus 2,000 miles at 25 pence (£500), which is £6,000. She has received no more than the approved amount, so there is no profit and nothing to declare. Tom plays for the same club's first team. He receives £40 a match "for petrol" whatever the distance, and the club also expects him to train twice a week and turn up an hour before kick off. The flat sum is not a reimbursement of actual costs, and his obligations look like those of a contract player. HMRC would be entitled to treat the £40 as earnings, and if the club is a CASC it also counts towards the £10,000 paid player limit.

Q: What mistakes do clubs and charities commonly make?

Round sum "expenses". A fixed payment per match or per session that is not tied to actual costs is the clearest sign of remuneration. Honoraria to officers. A treasurer or secretary who receives a thank you payment beyond their costs is being remunerated for an office, so the payment is employment income. Assuming the volunteer label decides the tax. HMRC looks at the substance: obligations, control and payment, not the title used. Forgetting the 10,000 mile aggregation. A volunteer driving for several organisations applies the 55 pence rate to their combined first 10,000 miles. Relying on the financial loss allowance exemption. Section 299A ITEPA 2003 (EIM01125) only covers voluntary office holders with a "relevant authority", a list made up of government departments, local councils, trade unions, local medical committees and statutory bodies. A members' club will not normally be one. Not keeping records. Mileage logs, receipts and a note of what each payment was for are the evidence that a payment was a reimbursement rather than pay. If HMRC opens a check into your return, tax investigation insurance pays your accountant's fees. Solar Protect cover pays up to £100,000 with no excess; it never pays tax, interest or penalties. Read how our cover works or get a quote.

Money paid to a volunteer or amateur player is not taxable if it does no more than repay the reasonable costs they actually incur, such as travel to matches or the cost of cleaning kit. Once a payment goes beyond that, for example appearance money, round sum “expenses” or generous scale rates, HMRC will look at whether the person holds an office or employment, in which case the excess is employment income and PAYE may apply, or otherwise taxes it as miscellaneous income.

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Why are genuine expense reimbursements to volunteers not taxed?

Income tax on employment income needs two things: an office or employment, and earnings from it. HMRC’s Employment Income Manual at EIM71100 explains that a person doing unpaid voluntary work for a charity or local society will not normally have a contract of employment or hold an office. With no office or employment, reimbursing the costs they incur in doing the work creates no tax charge. That includes the extra cost of travelling between home and the place where the volunteering happens, which an ordinary employee could not receive tax free.

The same principles apply to officials elected under the constitution of sports and social clubs. Such people may well hold an office, but they have no taxable earnings unless they are actually being remunerated. HMRC’s own guidance tells its officers not to spend time examining small amounts paid to cover the extra costs of holding office, and says these principles are intended for small amounts of travel and subsistence.

When does a payment to a volunteer become taxable?

EIM71100 draws the line clearly. If expenses are paid that do more than reimburse costs, or are paid at scale rates that cannot reasonably be regarded as a reimbursement, the volunteer may be receiving remuneration for their services. If they hold an office or employment, the payments are taxable as employment income. If they do not, the payments may be taxable as miscellaneous income, which the individual reports through Self Assessment.

There is a wider consequence too. The government’s guidance on volunteering says a volunteer who gets any other payment, reward or benefit in kind, including a promise of a contract or paid work later, might be classed as an employee or worker. That brings employment rights such as the National Minimum Wage, so a club that pays a “volunteer” a regular flat sum can create employment law exposure as well as a tax one.

The rules do not apply to people the organisation genuinely employs. Paid staff of a charity or club, such as a bar manager or groundsman on a contract, are taxed under normal principles and PAYE should be operated.

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How does HMRC treat amateur and non contract players?

For football, EIM64145 says that if a non contract or amateur player receives no more than reasonable out of pocket expenses for travelling to home or away matches, or for cleaning and maintaining kit, no tax liability arises and the voluntary worker principles apply. Where a payment or series of payments includes a clear element of remuneration, such as appearance money, HMRC will consider whether an oral or implied contract makes the player an employee of the club.

The factors HMRC lists include obligations to keep fit and train, availability for selection, times for reporting to matches, taking instructions from managers, and discipline and club rules. The more a player’s arrangements resemble a contract player’s, the stronger the case for employment. EIM64150 applies the same approach to rugby, noting that since 1995 both codes have had amateur and professional players.

A payment on signing as a professional is usually taxable in full as employment income even if it is described as compensation for “loss of amateur status”. EIM64160 explains that the old case of Jarrold v Boustead no longer has direct relevance because almost all major sports are open to amateurs and professionals alike.

Can volunteer drivers be paid mileage without tax?

Yes, within HMRC’s approved mileage rates. EIM71155 confirms that for the 2026 to 2027 tax year a volunteer driver paid 55 pence a mile or less for the first 10,000 miles has no tax to pay. The lower rate of 25 pence a mile applies above 10,000 miles, as set out in the government’s mileage allowance table, which also shows the car rate was 45 pence before 6 April 2026. The 10,000 mile band covers all the organisations a person drives for added together, not 10,000 miles each.

Using these rates saves the volunteer keeping running cost records: they only need to record miles driven and allowances received. They can instead keep records of actual costs and claim those. An organisation may also pay up to 5 pence a mile for each passenger carried, which is left out of the profit calculation entirely (EIM71165). If total allowances exceed the approved amount, EIM71160 treats the excess as a profit to declare as miscellaneous income. The same rates underpin the approved mileage allowance payments for employees.

What must a club check before it pays players?

If the club decides a player is an employee, it is an employer and normal payroll duties follow. The government’s PAYE guidance says an employer must register if, in the current tax year, an employee is paid above the weekly threshold set in that guidance, receives expenses and benefits, gets a pension, or has had another job. Many semi professional players have a day job, so the “another job” test is easily met. Even where registration is not required, payroll records must be kept. See registering as an employer for the process, and employment status tests for how status is decided.

For National Insurance, the lower earnings limit for 2026 to 2027 is £129 a week and the primary threshold is £242 a week, according to HMRC’s rates and thresholds for employers.

Extra rules for Community Amateur Sports Clubs

A registered Community Amateur Sports Club (CASC) can pay players, but under regulation 11 of the Community Amateur Sports Clubs Regulations 2015 the total paid to all players must not exceed £10,000 in an accounting period, reduced proportionately for shorter periods. HMRC’s detailed CASC guidance (section 2.15) adds that:

non cash benefits count towards the limit, valued using the benefits code;
payments must be at arm’s length or more favourable to the club;
managers and officers of the club, and people connected with them, cannot be paid to play;
payments to members for non playing work at commercial rates, such as bar work, coaching or ground work, do not count towards the £10,000.

Separately, a CASC may reimburse necessary and reasonable travel and subsistence for players, match officials, coaches and first aiders travelling to away matches. Subsistence can only be reimbursed where the round trip from the club base takes 4 hours or more (section 2.12.3). Breaching the paid player limit can lead to deregistration and a corporation tax charge. Clubs that are not CASCs should read corporation tax for clubs and associations.

What does this look like in practice?

Illustration only. Priya drives for a community transport charity and, in 2026 to 2027, also drives players to away fixtures for her son’s club. Across both she drives 12,000 miles and receives 50 pence a mile, so £6,000 in total. The tax free amount is 10,000 miles at 55 pence (£5,500) plus 2,000 miles at 25 pence (£500), which is £6,000. She has received no more than the approved amount, so there is no profit and nothing to declare.

Tom plays for the same club’s first team. He receives £40 a match “for petrol” whatever the distance, and the club also expects him to train twice a week and turn up an hour before kick off. The flat sum is not a reimbursement of actual costs, and his obligations look like those of a contract player. HMRC would be entitled to treat the £40 as earnings, and if the club is a CASC it also counts towards the £10,000 paid player limit.

What mistakes do clubs and charities commonly make?

Round sum “expenses”. A fixed payment per match or per session that is not tied to actual costs is the clearest sign of remuneration.
Honoraria to officers. A treasurer or secretary who receives a thank you payment beyond their costs is being remunerated for an office, so the payment is employment income.
Assuming the volunteer label decides the tax. HMRC looks at the substance: obligations, control and payment, not the title used.
Forgetting the 10,000 mile aggregation. A volunteer driving for several organisations applies the 55 pence rate to their combined first 10,000 miles.
Relying on the financial loss allowance exemption. Section 299A ITEPA 2003 (EIM01125) only covers voluntary office holders with a “relevant authority”, a list made up of government departments, local councils, trade unions, local medical committees and statutory bodies. A members’ club will not normally be one.
Not keeping records. Mileage logs, receipts and a note of what each payment was for are the evidence that a payment was a reimbursement rather than pay.

If HMRC opens a check into your return, tax investigation insurance pays your accountant’s fees. Solar Protect cover pays up to £100,000 with no excess; it never pays tax, interest or penalties. Read how our cover works or get a quote.

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Sources

Reviewed by Christine Anderson, Broker, Solar Protect. Last reviewed 8 October 2026. Part of Accountapedia, the Solar Protect guide to UK tax and accounting. This page is general information, not personalised advice.