How to Deduct County Club Dues (Kinda)

Membership dues (which let you use the golf course) you pay to a county club are never deductible.

…but “golf outings” are deductible if, before you committed to spend money on the golf outing, you:

  • expected to generate income or other specific business benefits other than goodwill at some point, and
  • you engaged in the discussion, negotiation, business meeting, or other bona fide transaction
  • you kept your receipts from the golf expenditures and documented the business purpose within a week (the IRS safe-harbor)

Try this:

If you purchase a “corporate golf membership that allows you to play once a day with up to three guests of your choosing”, then you have a deductible “season pass”.  No food discounts, no social memberships…nothing but golf.  That is how you can turn your non-deductible membership into a deductible pre-paid series of outings.