Having trouble with taxes

[cmcallm]

I keep track of all my umping mileage, and any meals I eat on the road, any gear I buy, my REFEREE subscription, phone calls, postage & office supplies, uniforms, game insurance, and rule books/videos. You can write it all off against what you make umping. Ask your tax guru for a Schedule C, and plug in all those numbers on that form. You'll get a Profit or Loss final number, and that number is what your umping season boils down to financially. I've made several thousand bucks a year, and by the time I get done writing stuff off I about break even. BEWARE, however - you have to end up in the "black" two out of every three years, or the IRS classifies your umping as a hobby, and then you have to declare EVERYTHING you make but won't be able to write off ANYTHING.
I have a buddy who only declares income he gets a 1099 for from the schools, and writes off against that. He pockets the cash, doesn't write off against cash games, and he ends up in about the same boat I do -= but if he gets caught not declaring it ALL, he'll get audited for the previous umpteen years and every year from now on.

Your choice.