Quote:
Originally Posted by Welpe
The certified tax person I pay to do my taxes disagrees due to the nature of our work and each school being a temporary work site. This is what I do, everybody has to make their own decision.
I document all officiating income by game, including mileage compensation. That is all totaled up as income. All miles driven are recorded as expenses and are totaled up with all other expenses for the year.
I claim every cent I make officiating, 1099 issued or not. I also be sure to write off everything I can including uniforms, assigning fees, chapter dues, insurance fees and such. I don't bother trying to deduct part of my cell phone, internet or laundry expenses. I figure the small gain isn't worth the increased chance of an audit (though there are folks that do deduct those things).
Thanks for the reminder to get working on this. I need to quite being so lazy and actually keep up with these records throughout the year.
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Everything you said is great except for the mileage part - I have to disagree with your tax pro (this is coming from a tax pro). Just because it's a temporary work site does not make commuting mileage deductible (if it's in your metro area, which of course is vaguely defined). In the vast majority of cases, if you're coming from your home, it's not deductible. Going from your full-time job to the school is.
Either way, the key is to KEEP GOOD RECORDS. Like others, a good spreadsheet is usually all you need.