Assigning Fee (Officials or Schools)?

[bob jenkins]

I would add that the math (if not the psychology, and the labor law implications) comes out the same:

1) School pays referee $70 and assigner $5
2) School pays referee $75 and referee pays assigner $5
3) School pays association $75. Association pays referee $70 and assigner $5.

[Raymond]

Originally Posted by bob jenkins

I would add that the math (if not the psychology, and the labor law implications) comes out the same:

1) School pays referee $70 and assigner $5
2) School pays referee $75 and referee pays assigner $5
3) School pays association $75. Association pays referee $70 and assigner $5.

Also has tax implications. We (officials) forfeit a 10% assigning fee/game in my HS association--8% to commissioner, 1% to secretary, 1% to either treasure or legal fund, I forget which. However, when we get our 1099, the entire game fees are included as our income. IMO, we should only be showing 90% of our game fees as income, and the assigning fee should show up as income for the respective EB members who are actually receiving that money.

I, of course, itemize the assigning fees in my expenses, but not everyone pays attention to such details when filing taxes.

[Valley Man]

Raymond great catch on your part!

My argument to the question posed is much the same.

If you have the schools pay the fee, they will lower the game fee to cover it.
If you pay the assignors out of the higher game fee, you come out about the same.

[SC Official]

Every assigner, college and high school, I've ever received games from collects fees from both officials and the schools.

If the schools don't want to pay for an assigner then they can hire their own officials.

[chapmaja]

Originally Posted by SC Official

Every assigner, college and high school, I've ever received games from collects fees from both officials and the schools.

If the schools don't want to pay for an assigner then they can hire their own officials.

Not in Michigan. MHSAA is clear. Assigners can collect fee from the league or from the schools, or they can charge officials and assigning fee, but NOT both. Schools also pay officials. Assigners are prohibited from getting pay for the officials and passing it on to the officials.

Personally, I charge the schools a flat fee for assigning.

[JRutledge]

Originally Posted by SC Official

Every assigner, college and high school, I've ever received games from collects fees from both officials and the schools.

If the schools don't want to pay for an assigner then they can hire their own officials.

The only thing we paid for in Illinois was the Arbiter site which was like $7 to use the site. We never paid for any fee for games, at least not that we can account for.

In Indiana, we pay nothing but dues to the association. The Association takes care of all the assigning and the site usages, which used to be Arbiter but now is Eventlink.

Peace

[Valley Man]

Thanks Mark!

Curious if you know the amount the assignors charge the schools/school systems or towns/conferences?

[SC Official]

Originally Posted by chapmaja

Not in Michigan. MHSAA is clear. Assigners can collect fee from the league or from the schools, or they can charge officials and assigning fee, but NOT both. Schools also pay officials. Assigners are prohibited from getting pay for the officials and passing it on to the officials.

Personally, I charge the schools a flat fee for assigning.

Originally Posted by JRutledge

The only thing we paid for in Illinois was the Arbiter site which was like $7 to use the site. We never paid for any fee for games, at least not that we can account for.

In Indiana, we pay nothing but dues to the association. The Association takes care of all the assigning and the site usages, which used to be Arbiter but now is Eventlink.

Peace

I should clarify that the only assigning structures I've worked under at the high school level are ones where the "associations" are also the assigners (and in South Carolina all varsity games are assigned by the state office). So I was referring to the fact that a portion of my dues/registration is going to the assigner as compensation. And I know the local associations I have been a member of always charge the schools a booking fee - as they should. If schools don't want to pay to have officials booked, they should book them themselves.

Schools don't self-affiliate with conferences down here so there are no individual league assigners.

I have never written a check directly to a high school assigner as an assigning fee like I have at the college level. At the college level the assigners are most certainly collecting fees from their officials and their league or individual schools (not to mention the camp money).

[Camron Rust]

Originally Posted by Raymond

Also has tax implications. We (officials) forfeit a 10% assigning fee/game in my HS association--8% to commissioner, 1% to secretary, 1% to either treasure or legal fund, I forget which. However, when we get our 1099, the entire game fees are included as our income. IMO, we should only be showing 90% of our game fees as income, and the assigning fee should show up as income for the respective EB members who are actually receiving that money.

I, of course, itemize the assigning fees in my expenses, but not everyone pays attention to such details when filing taxes.

Tax law says otherwise. The IRS wants to know the gross income and then wants to see your expenses as a reduction from that total. The association fees taken out of the game fees is an expense, not a reduction of gross income.

It comes out the same in the end, but the IRS wants the details.

[BillyMac]

Originally Posted by Raymond

I, of course, itemize the assigning fees in my expenses, but not everyone pays attention to such details when filing taxes.

Originally Posted by Camron Rust

The IRS wants to know the gross income and then wants to see your expenses as a reduction from that total. The association fees taken out of the game fees is an expense, not a reduction of gross income. It comes out the same in the end, but the IRS wants the details.

Every year my accountant uses information that I provide him to complete Form 1040 Schedule C : Profit or Loss From Business. He asks that I provide him with total officiating income, total officiating expenses including dues, fees, uniform, shoes, and equipment, and my total round trip officiating mileage. Not sure what he does with the information provided, he's the accounting expert.

[JRutledge]

How would you know what someone pays the assignor unless they tell you? I know assignors that are paid a flat fee per school. I know assignors that are paid per game. How would we know what that break down and why would we report it if we have no idea what that is? All I know is my check my be $75, I have no idea what other fees are involved unless on the contract. This is almost never discussed openly here.

Peace

[BillyMac]

Originally Posted by JRutledge

Let us get into "Good Trouble."

Just noticed this and remembered that your Mom was active in the civil rights movement. Great way to honor and remember.

[Raymond]

Originally Posted by JRutledge

How would you know what someone pays the assignor unless they tell you? I know assignors that are paid a flat fee per school. I know assignors that are paid per game. How would we know what that break down and why would we report it if we have no idea what that is? All I know is my check my be $75, I have no idea what other fees are involved unless on the contract. This is almost never discussed openly here.



Peace

I started noticing it because my 1099 did not match my spreadsheet when it came to income from my High School association.

Sent from my SM-N950U using Tapatalk

[JRutledge]

Originally Posted by Raymond

I started noticing it because my 1099 did not match my spreadsheet when it came to income from my High School association.

Only speaking for me. We do not get that information. Even the games on Blue Zebra or Arbiter, we get no additional information about payment for the assignor. I am sure there are other places that might not be the case.

Peace

[BillyMac]

Originally Posted by Raymond

I started noticing it because my 1099 did not match my spreadsheet when it came to income from my High School association.

In my case the two never match because only about half the schools we cover use Arbiter, and only Arbiter sends most of us 1099's. We have so many officials and our assigner tries to spread it out so that the same officials don't often work at the same site more than once or twice a season that individual schools (or school systems) don't often meet minimum payments (I believe that it may be $600.00) to generate mandatory 1099's for almost all of us.

I have to explain this to my accountant every year.