Key Issues Facing Motorsport Businesses

In our experience, motorsport businesses often face one or more of three key accounting and tax issues.

Key Issue #1 VAT & Motorsport

VAT was devised by a French civil servant in 1952, primarily as a job creation device in the aftermath of the Second World War. Needless to say, it was always intended to be complex and administratively burdensome!

VAT is a complex tax at the best of times. With its international dimension, motorsport often creates complicated VAT issues. A frequent question we get asked by our motorsport clients is around the charging of VAT on international transactions. For example we were recently asked by a client whether or not he should be charged VAT on some driver training on ice in Sweden!

Then, if you are a competitor yourself, or maybe a family member is, there is the perennial issue of getting the VAT back on your motor racing costs. Our specialist motorsport accountants have years of first-hand experience in dealing with these sorts of issues and can steer you through all the potential pitfalls.

Key Issue #2 R&D Tax Credit Claims

R&D tax credits are a very valuable way to claim a big tax break. In our experience, very often motorsport businesses do not claim, overlooking one of the few tax reliefs available these days.

You'd be surprised at what qualifies for R&D tax credits! Our specialist team has a lot of experience in getting motorsport R&D tax credits - our biggest one was for £2.4m and it sailed through a detailed HMRC audit!

Key Issue #3 - Sponsorship & Tax

Sponsorship is a way for businesses to obtain the commercial benefit of bringing their name, products or services to public attention say Harris & Co chartered accountants Northampton, the specialist motorsport accountants.

Sponsorship costs can be allowable in arriving at the profits of a trade or profession provided certain rules are met.

We've got a lot of experience in what you need to put in place to get over the pitfalls of these rules. This year alone, we've successfully defended three sponsorship deals from HMRC challenges.

Gives us a call or e-mail us to discuss how we can help you with getting a tax deduction for your sponsorship.

For more information on our motorsport accountancy services please contact us by calling 01604 660661 or email admin@harrisandco.biz.