Bookkeeping for coaches and personal trainers

The package problem

A client buys a twenty-session package for $1,700 on January 8. She comes twice a week, then catches the flu, then goes on vacation. Her last session is in May.

On the cash basis, all $1,700 is January income. You record it the day it reaches your bank, not as the sessions happen. That makes the books simple. It also creates a quiet risk: in January your account looks healthy, but you still owe her nineteen sessions, and your gym fee, your insurance and your own rent will keep coming while you deliver them.

Two habits handle this. First, keep a simple list outside the books of sessions sold and sessions used, by client. A spreadsheet or your booking app is enough. Second, do not spend package money as if it were profit. When a large package lands, set aside the tax share and leave a cushion for the months you will spend earning it.

What if she asks for a refund of the eight unused sessions? Record the refund as a negative income entry in the month you pay it. It does not change January. If January and the refund fall in different tax years, the refund reduces the later year’s income.

Card payments and the 1099-K

Many trainers take payment through a booking app or a card reader. The app deposits the money minus its fees, often in batches. A week of sessions worth $1,240 may arrive as one deposit of $1,201.40.

If you have a Form 1099-K, it reports the gross amount, before fees and refunds. So record the gross as income and the fees on line 10, commissions and fees. In Righto you can split the $1,201.40 deposit into $1,240 of income and $38.60 of fees, and the bank still reconciles to the cent. If you record only the net, your income will look smaller than the 1099-K, and the IRS may ask why.

Cash and personal payment apps count too. A client who pays $80 in cash is still $80 of income. Write it down the same day.

What it costs to coach

The gym arrangement deserves attention. Some trainers pay a flat monthly fee. Some pay a percentage of each session to the gym. A flat fee for the right to use the space is rent on line 20b. A percentage the gym keeps from your session fees is closer to a commission on line 10. Read your agreement and pick the line that matches what the payment really is.

Equipment, depreciation and the de minimis rule

A mobile trainer buys bands, a set of adjustable dumbbells, a bench and a case for the car. Each item is well under $2,500. Under the de minimis safe harbor, a business can deduct items that cost $2,500 or less per item or invoice as supplies on line 22, if you make the election on your return each year (see the IRS page on tangible property regulations).

A studio owner who buys a $6,800 rack system is in a different place. That is property with a useful life of more than a year, so it goes on line 13, through depreciation or a section 179 deduction. Your preparer chooses the method; your job is to keep the receipt and the date it went into use.

Workout clothes and your own fitness

This is the question every trainer asks. Workout clothes are usually not deductible, because you can wear them anywhere. The IRS test is whether clothing is suitable for everyday wear, not whether you actually wear it elsewhere. A shirt printed with your business logo that you give away is marketing. A shirt you wear to train in is clothing.

Your own gym membership is in the same zone. If the gym is where you see clients, the fee for access to train them is a business cost. Your personal workouts at a different gym are personal. Keep the two separate.

Driving to clients

If you train people in their homes or in parks, those miles are deductible. For 2026 the standard mileage rate is 72.5 cents a mile from January 1 to June 30 and 76 cents from July 1 (Announcement 2026-11). A trainer who drives 120 business miles a week for 48 weeks logs 5,760 miles. Split evenly across the two halves, that is $2,088 plus $2,188.80, or about $4,277 on line 9.

You need a log with the date, place, purpose and miles (Publication 463). Your booking calendar helps, but add the miles the same day. Our mileage deduction calculator shows what your log is worth.

One year in numbers

Here is a year for an independent trainer we will call Priya, who rents time at a private studio.

Self-employment tax: $46,995 × 0.9235 × 0.153, about $6,640. Income tax comes on top. The self-employment tax calculator runs your own numbers.

Now look at it the other way. Priya’s fixed costs, the studio, insurance, apps and website, are about $11,700 a year, or $975 a month. At $85 a session after fees, she needs about twelve sessions a month just to cover them. Everything after that is profit before tax. The break-even calculator does this for your own prices. It is a useful number to know before you sign a bigger studio lease.

Setting aside tax

Coaching income often follows the calendar: strong in January and September, slow in summer and December. Estimated tax payments are due four times a year regardless; see estimated tax dates.

Move a fixed share of every deposit, often 25% to 30%, into a separate savings account each week. For package sales, add a cushion as well, because that money has to carry you through the sessions still owed. The cash runway tool shows how long your balance lasts at your current costs.

Common mistakes

• Recording the net deposit. If a 1099-K shows gross, record gross and the fees.
• Spending package money early. It is income now, but the work is still ahead.
• Deducting workout clothes and personal training. Usually not allowed.
• No mileage log. Mobile trainers lose thousands this way.
• Paying another trainer without a form. If you pay a substitute coach $2,000 or more in 2026, by check or bank transfer, you may need to send a Form 1099-NEC. That cost goes on line 11.

A weekly routine

Every week, in fifteen minutes:

1. Import the bank, card and payment app statements (importing statements).
2. Let rules categorize the studio fee, apps and insurance.
3. Split app deposits into gross sessions and fees.
4. Add any cash payments.
5. Update the sessions-owed list and the mileage log.

Each month, reconcile every account to the cent and move the tax share to savings. Use separate income categories for single sessions, packages and group classes, so you can see what actually sells.

What to hand your tax preparer

Righto’s year-end package gathers a cash-basis profit and loss, expenses by Schedule C line, and reconciled balances. Add:

• Any 1099-K and 1099-NEC forms you received
• Any 1099-NEC forms you sent to substitute coaches
• The mileage log
• Receipts and dates for larger equipment
• Estimated tax payments, with dates
• Your home office measurements, if you do programming from a dedicated room (see the home office calculator and Publication 587)

Publication 334 and the Schedule C instructions cover each line in more detail.

General information, not advice for your situation. Ask a tax professional about your own return.