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- The whole family is in the collection: the tax deduction for sports will be extended to spouses and parents
The whole family is in the collection: the tax deduction for sports will be extended to spouses and parents
The sports tax deduction will be extended to spouses and parents — the Ministry of Finance has included such a proposal in the draft budget for 2026-2027 (Izvestia has studied the documents). Currently, refunds can only be issued for yourself and children under 18 years of age. The initiative will expand the range of recipients, make fitness more accessible and stimulate demand. Last year, about 180,000 applications were submitted for deduction. The additional budget expenses will be partially recouped by increasing taxes from sports clubs and reducing medical costs, as sports help maintain health. How much money can be returned for physical education and wellness services next year is in the Izvestia article.
How to get a sports deduction
Now in Russia, you can return some of the money spent on sports services for yourself and children under 18. The Ministry of Finance proposed to expand this social deduction and extend it to parents and spouses. That is, if you buy a gym membership, for example, for your wife or mom, personal income tax can be compensated. This follows from the materials for the draft budget for 2026-2027, which were studied by Izvestia.
For this measure, it is planned to use a mechanism similar to the existing social deductions, the Finance Ministry told Izvestia. It will work on the same principle as compensation for medical treatment or training. The agency clarified that the changes may come into force in the next three years. The editorial board sent a request to the Federal Tax Service and the Ministry of Sports.
To receive a deduction, you will need to confirm the purchase with documents — provide an agreement with a fitness club, a receipt or receipt, explained Elena Silina, head of the National Fitness Community. At the same time, a certificate from the club on payment for physical education and recreation services will be sufficient to compensate for 2024 and the following periods, she said.
— In addition, the deduction will not depend on the employment status of family members. Both working and unemployed parents or spouses will be able to use it if a relative has paid for them from their own funds. The main thing is that the club should be included in the official list of organizations providing sports and recreation services approved by the Ministry of Sports," Elena Silina added.
Social deductions, in addition to sports, include other benefits that allow you to return part of the personal income tax paid. For example, you can receive compensation for charity, education, treatment, and medications, as well as for pension contributions, life insurance, and VHI.
All these expenses, including sports expenses, are summed up, and the tax can be refunded only within the general limit — from 150 thousand rubles per year, explained Vadim Zasko, Dean of the Faculty of Taxes, Audit and Business Analysis at the Financial University under the Government of the Russian Federation.
Even if sports expenses turn out to be higher than this amount, compensation will still be limited to a base of 150,000, explained Natalia Oleinik, senior manager of the Kept Group for human resources management and taxation of individuals. She clarified that with a personal income tax rate of 13%, the maximum refund amount will be 19.5 thousand.
A progressive income tax scale has been in effect in Russia since 2025. This means that when submitting documents for expenses incurred in 2025, it will be possible to return from 19.5 thousand to 33 thousand rubles, depending on the applicable personal income tax rate, which varies from 13% to 22%.
Will Russians exercise more?
The amendments are aimed not so much at increasing the number of people who will start playing sports, but rather at simplifying the procedure for partial reimbursement of expenses for relatives' classes. This, in turn, can attract new visitors to fitness clubs, said Vadim Zasko from the Financial University.
According to him, the Federal Tax Service now has a sufficiently developed digital toolkit that allows it to accurately determine and account for citizens' expenses.
— In fact, the problem of documenting the right to benefits is becoming a thing of the past. In the future, you will not need to collect papers — an organization's license, proof of payment, or a contract to exercise the right to compensation," the expert explained.
The initiative looks promising, but for tangible results it is important to develop it together with social benefits, says Kirill Yakovlev, Program Director of the Faculty of Hospitality and Sports Industry at the Presidential Academy. According to him, such a measure can be especially effective for spouses, but for this it is worth raising the spending limit from 150,000 to a more significant amount.
— This measure may encourage those who are already thinking about classes, but are deterred by the high price. The expansion of compensation will increase the incentive at the whole family level, especially if the expenses include several people at once," said Elena Silina from the National Fitness Community.
According to her, this measure will make sports more accessible and strengthen the trend of family visits to fitness clubs.
How will the expansion of sports deduction affect the budget
The expansion of the circle of recipients of compensation for sports activities will lead to additional budget expenditures for the return of personal income tax. According to the Ministry of Sports, by the end of 2023 (applications were submitted in 2024), the authorities allocated 5.5 billion rubles for such payments, Natalia Milchakova, a leading analyst at Freedom Finance Global, recalled. About 180 thousand people applied for the privilege.
— Budget expenditures are likely to rise to 7-9 billion rubles next year, if the amendments are adopted. This is no more than 0.4% of GDP and total budget expenditures. However, such expenses will pay off: in the future, the state will need less funds to combat serious illnesses, as more people are expected to exercise regularly, the expert predicts.
In addition, the growth in sales of fitness club subscriptions will increase the income tax base, said economist Andrei Barkhota. According to him, this effect partially compensates for the budget expenses for the return of personal income tax. The sports business, in turn, perceives this measure as a way to stimulate demand and is ready to adapt to new conditions, added Elena Silina from the National Fitness Community. Many clubs in Russia have already implemented family programs.
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