Community Amateur Sports Clubs

The Community Amateur Sports Clubs 'CASC' scheme was first introduced in April 2002 and allows for many amateur sports clubs to register with HMRC thereby benefiting from a range of tax reliefs, including gift aid.

The main conditions necessary for an amateur club to be classified as a CASC are as follows:

• The club must have as its main purpose providing facilities for and promoting participation in one or more eligible sports and at least 50% of members must take part.
• The club must be set up with a formal constitution, known as a governing document.
• The club must be open to the whole community and have affordable membership fees.
• The club must be organised on an amateur basis.
• The club must meet the necessary location requirements.
• The club must meet the necessary management conditions.

CASCs can earn up to £100,000 a year in trading income from non-members and property income. There is no limit on the amount of trading income a CASC can earn from its members (except in relation to the property cap). A CASC can also benefit from an annual tax-exempt threshold of £50,000 for trading profits and £30,000 for property rental income. The list of sports clubs registered with HMRC as a CASC has recently been updated.