Commonwealth Games tax breaks
The 2014 Commonwealth Games, officially known as the XX Commonwealth Games, will be held in Glasgow from 23 July to 3 August 2014. The opening ceremony of the Games will be held at Celtic Park in Glasgow and the closing ceremony will be held at Scotland’s national stadium.
New guidance hasbeen published on the tax break for athletes that take part in the Games. The move means that athletes from outside the UK will be exempt from UK Income Tax on any payment in connection with their performance in the UK.
Under UK tax rules a sportsperson not resident in the UK would usually be subject to UK Income Tax on UK earnings including a proportion of any worldwide endorsement income. This move is meant to help attract top athletes to compete at the Commonwealth Games and follows a similar exemption for the Olympic Games in London which was a condition of the London bidding process.
The affected athletes will remain liable to tax in the country in which they are resident and the tax break is for competing non UK resident athletes only. The accreditation period runs from 4 March 2014 to 3 September 2014.