VAT on hiring out sports facilities

Q: How do the interval and payment rules work in practice?

Intervals. VATLP19300 says HMRC reads the one day minimum as requiring 24 hours between the start of each session, so if session one starts at 9am on Monday, session two should start no earlier than 9am on Tuesday. HMRC notes that the tribunal in Polo Farms disagreed with this reading but says it has not changed its interpretation. Notice 742 adds that the duration of sessions can vary, and there is no exception for gaps of more than 14 days caused by the facility closing for any reason, so a Christmas closure can break a series. Payment. VATLP19500 says the payment must be calculated by reference to, and made for, the whole series, regardless of whether every session is used. It does not have to be paid in advance and can be paid in instalments during the series. Notice 742 says a refund given by the provider when its facility is unexpectedly unavailable does not break the condition. Pay as you play arrangements, where the club pays only for sessions it turns up to, fail this test.

Q: What mistakes come up most often?

Treating every block booking as exempt. All seven conditions must be met, including written evidence that the whole series is payable. Charging VAT on a bare village hall. Floor markings alone do not make a hall a sports facility. Adding equipment without thinking. Supplying nets and racquets with a school hall turns an exempt let into a standard rated one. Ignoring closures. A gap of more than 14 days breaks the series, whatever the reason. Not checking the hirer. A commercial coaching business is not a school, club or association for Note (16). 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.

Hiring out a pitch, court or other sports facility is standard rated unless it is a single let of more than 24 hours, or a series of at least 10 sessions to a school, club or association that meets every condition in Note (16) to Group 1 of Schedule 9. A plain general purpose hall is not a sports facility, so letting it is normally exempt even when it is used for sport.

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Why is hiring out a sports facility usually standard rated?

Most lets and licences to occupy property are exempt under Group 1 of Schedule 9 to the VAT Act 1994. Item 1(m) of that Group takes out of the exemption the grant of facilities for playing any sport or taking part in any physical recreation. VAT Notice 742, paragraph 5.1, summarises the effect: letting sports facilities is normally standard rated, currently at 20%, but a let for over 24 hours or for a qualifying series of sessions may be exempt.

The rule exists because short sessions on a pitch or court look more like a leisure service than a property letting. Note (16) then puts back into the exemption the kinds of let that do look like property lettings: long single lets and regular block bookings by organised groups.

What counts as a sports facility?

Notice 742, paragraph 5.2, says premises are sports facilities if they are designed or adapted for playing a sport or taking part in physical recreation, such as swimming pools, football pitches, dance studios and skating rinks. HMRC’s guidance at VATLP19100 adds that each individual court, pitch or lane is a separate facility.

The same paragraph draws an important line for halls:

a general purpose hall, such as a village or church hall, which merely has floor markings is not a sports facility, and letting it is exempt even when it is used for sport
a school hall (but not a gymnasium) is treated the same way provided only the bare hall is supplied
if equipment such as racquets and nets is supplied with the hall, the supply becomes one of standard rated sports facilities

Lets of halls for other purposes, and the effect of catering and packages, are covered in our guide to VAT on room and venue hire.

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When is a single let exempt?

Note (16)(a) disapplies item 1(m) where the grant is for a continuous period of use exceeding 24 hours. Notice 742, paragraph 5.3, adds that the let must be to the same person, who must have exclusive control of the facilities throughout. VATLP19400 confirms that for a single let over 24 hours the status of the hirer does not matter, so a let of a sports hall to a company for a two day event can be exempt.

A weekend tournament booked as one continuous let qualifies. A booking of the same pitch from 9am to 5pm on two consecutive days does not, because there are two separate periods of eight hours rather than one continuous period of over 24 hours.

What conditions must a series of lets meet?

Note (16)(b) exempts a series of 10 or more periods, whether or not they add up to more than 24 hours, if all of the following apply. Notice 742, paragraph 5.4, sets them out as seven steps:

the series consists of 10 or more sessions
each session is for the same sport or activity
each session is in the same place, which is still met if a different pitch, court or lane, or a different number of them, is used at the same establishment
the interval between sessions is at least one day and not more than 14 days
the series is paid for as a whole and there is written evidence of this, including that payment is due in full whether or not each session is used
the facilities are let to a school, club, association or an organisation representing affiliated clubs or constituent associations, such as a local league
the hirer has exclusive use of the facilities during the sessions

Failing any one condition makes every session in the series standard rated. If the provider has opted to tax the property, the lets are taxable even where the conditions are met, as explained in our guide to the option to tax.

How do the interval and payment rules work in practice?

Intervals. VATLP19300 says HMRC reads the one day minimum as requiring 24 hours between the start of each session, so if session one starts at 9am on Monday, session two should start no earlier than 9am on Tuesday. HMRC notes that the tribunal in Polo Farms disagreed with this reading but says it has not changed its interpretation. Notice 742 adds that the duration of sessions can vary, and there is no exception for gaps of more than 14 days caused by the facility closing for any reason, so a Christmas closure can break a series.

Payment. VATLP19500 says the payment must be calculated by reference to, and made for, the whole series, regardless of whether every session is used. It does not have to be paid in advance and can be paid in instalments during the series. Notice 742 says a refund given by the provider when its facility is unexpectedly unavailable does not break the condition. Pay as you play arrangements, where the club pays only for sessions it turns up to, fail this test.

Who counts as a school, club or association?

VATLP19400 says clubs and associations may be incorporated or unincorporated, and include members’ clubs, employees’ or trade union social clubs, proprietary clubs and service messes. Individual teams, and committees or teams within a larger club, can be treated as clubs in their own right if they run their affairs like a club, for example by entering formal agreements and collecting subscriptions.

A school means an institution providing statutory primary or secondary education. HMRC’s own example is that hiring a dance studio to a comprehensive school can qualify, but hiring it to a commercial dance school that sells tuition to the public cannot. Lets to individuals, informal groups of friends and companies cannot meet the series condition, although a single let of over 24 hours to any of them can.

Does the sport exemption for non profit bodies change the answer?

It can. Group 10 of Schedule 9 separately exempts services closely linked with and essential to sport when supplied by an eligible non profit body to individuals taking part. HMRC’s VAT Sport Manual at VSPORT2050 says a pitch hire by such a body to a non profit club whose members are the ones playing can qualify, as can an individual squash court booked on the day. A pitch hire by a commercial operator only qualifies under Note (16). The eligible body conditions are in our guide to the sport and physical education exemption.

Commercial league operators should also note VATLP19600. Following the tribunal decision in Goals Soccer Centres, HMRC accepts that a league fee can cover two supplies, a standard rated league management service and an exempt pitch let where Note (16) is met, and that the single price must be apportioned on a fair basis with records to support it.

How does this look for a typical sports centre?

Illustration only. A commercial sports centre that has not opted to tax receives four bookings:

Booking	Treatment
A five a side club books the same pitch every Tuesday for 12 weeks, invoiced and paid as one series under a written agreement	Exempt series of lets
A group of friends books a court every Thursday for a term, paying each week	Standard rated: not a club, and not paid as a whole
A company hires the main hall continuously from Friday evening to Sunday evening for a tournament, with exclusive control	Exempt single let over 24 hours
A netball league books courts fortnightly for 10 weeks, but the centre closes for three weeks in the middle	Standard rated: one interval exceeds 14 days

Because the centre makes both exempt and taxable supplies, it also needs a partial exemption method for the VAT on its overheads.

What mistakes come up most often?

Treating every block booking as exempt. All seven conditions must be met, including written evidence that the whole series is payable.
Charging VAT on a bare village hall. Floor markings alone do not make a hall a sports facility.
Adding equipment without thinking. Supplying nets and racquets with a school hall turns an exempt let into a standard rated one.
Ignoring closures. A gap of more than 14 days breaks the series, whatever the reason.
Not checking the hirer. A commercial coaching business is not a school, club or association for Note (16).

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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Reviewed by Christine Anderson, Broker, Solar Protect. Last reviewed 24 October 2026. Part of Accountapedia, the Solar Protect guide to UK tax and accounting. This page is general information, not personalised advice.