Super deduction for sports – effective from 1 January 2026

Super deduction for sports – effective from 1 January 2026

The approved amendment to the Income Tax Act introduces several changes in the field of sport, effective from 1 January 2026. One of the new measures is the so-called super deduction for sports. Both legal entities and individual entrepreneurs may claim it. Up to 50% of tax-deductible expenses incurred for the support of sport may be deducted from the tax base, up to a maximum of EUR 250,000.

Conditions and limits

One of the basic conditions for claiming the super deduction is a positive tax base after the deduction of tax losses.

For the purposes of the super deduction, expenses for the support of sport are considered exclusively non-cash benefits provided to a sports organisation – for example, sports equipment or other sports gear. Expenses that are partially or fully covered from public funds are excluded.

Up to 50% of the total tax-deductible expenses incurred for the support of sport may be deducted from the tax base, provided that the statutory conditions are met. This deduction may be increased by 25% of the positive difference between such expenses in the current period and the average of these expenses in the immediately preceding three tax periods. However, the total deduction cannot exceed EUR 250,000 per tax period.

Expenses for the support of sport as tax-deductible expenses

For income tax purposes, expenses for the support of sport are recognised as tax-deductible only after payment. They must also be contractually agreed in advance,  recorded in accounting and actually paid.

For transparency, the Financial Directorate of the Slovak Republic will be required to publish information on taxpayers who have claimed this deduction (identification data, amount of the deduction and the date on which the support began), as well as the identification data of the supported sports organisation. This list will be published within three months after the deadline for filing the tax return.

If a taxpayer reports a tax loss in the tax period, or if the tax base reduced by tax losses is lower than the amount of the deduction, the deduction cannot be claimed. However, the taxpayer may apply the deduction, or its unused part, in the next tax period, at the latest within five tax periods immediately following the period in which the entitlement arose.

Taxpayers will be able to claim the deduction for the first time for a tax period beginning after 1 January 2026.