IRS help
 

Okay guys, I need tax advise. In as much detail as you feel comfortable giving, how do you handle your referee income and deductions. Specifically, what expenses can you claim and how do you calculate them and keep track of them efficiently and accurately. I have not been doing a good enough job with this, and my day job has finally gotten to the point where I care a whole lot more. I appreciate your help with this. All tricks of the trade are welcome.

Track your mileage to and from games, I believe the current rate is 48 cents a mile. Any equipment (whistle, shirt, shoes) and association fees are deductible.

I remember having a discussion with somebody on this forum trying to sell that his gym membership kept him in shape for officiating. Thin ice if you ask me.

I'm not accountant, but I have been told that expenses you can deduct with "no worries" are things that are directly related to your officiating. For instance, camp fees and uniforms etc. Gym memberships are not allowable because you might join the gym even if you didn't ref.

I keep a spreadsheet with all income and expenses. Along with the other deductible items already mentioned I believe you can claim liability insurance.

As far as uniforms go you should be able to deduct your striped shirt. Your pants and shoes most likely are not deductable. Deductions for uniforms are only allowed if the uniform cannot be worn for any other purpose. Since the shirt really can't be worn for any other purpose, you can deduct it. However, black pants and black shoes can be worn for non-business purposes and are not deductible.

I respectfully disagree. My patent leathers are used exclusively for refereeing, and I'm deducting them. Same with those awful polyester beltless pants.

On a side note. The Mileage rate just went to 48.5 cents per mile on January 1. During 2006, the rate was 44.5 cents per mile.

where I'm gonna wear my black patent "leather" (read as PLASTIC) sneakers is a mystery to me

How about deducting a navigation device??? Some of the places I'm sent to is off the beaten track and a GPS is necessary to find the schools.

Depends on how you deduct your miles
 

If you go straight milage, I would say you cannot deduct your GPS. However, if you calculate your deduction as a percentage of your vehicle (15% of all miles go to ref games and camps), then all vehicle costs are deductible using that percentage. You get a better deal using straight mileage. The reason its so high is to incorporate repairs, tires, gas, and things like a gps.

This one is a bit of a stretch in my book.

Gps
 

Good question as I bought mine soley for officiating (but now use it for other things as well).

Geocaching?"

You can write off uniforms, Pants, shirts, shoes socks, compresion items
You can write off milage, there are two different ways to do it. Keeping track of miles is easiest though.
You can write off meals that are related to what you do, if it is a meeting with an assignor, AD or another official.
You can write off an area of your house if you have a home office for officiating. Along with that you can also write off part of your utilities also.
You can write off your cell phone, if it is used for your officiating needs.
You can write off ( depresiate) computers, PDA's, navigation equipment, Fax machines. Most any electronic device that you use for officiating.

Licenses, Memberships, clinics. As long as it has to do with your business.

You have to remeber that, even though most of us dont look at it this way, the government looks at us as a business. So anything used to help you run your business you can write off or partially write off. As long as you can document it.

I use Online Turbo Tax when i do my taxes, it works well for taking you through step by step of schedule C for an at home business.

As for income, Parks and such will generally send you a 1099 form. Schools generally issue you a check and you should keep track of those. If you ae paid in cash you are suppose to turn that in. Although i know some guys that dont. To me it is not worth the risk of not turning it in.

Hey, feel free to disagree. I'm just an accountant.

2007 U.S. Master Tax Guide by CCH Publishing (The tax bible as far as many accountant's are concerned) "The cost and upkeep of a uniform, including laundering and cleaning, are deductible only if the uniform is required as a condition of employment and is not adaptable to general wear."

The pants may be ugly but I'd lay odds that the IRS will find them to be adaptable to general wear. It's not how you use it; it's how it can be used.

I've been told by several people (and maybe even seen an article in Referee Magazine) that your mileage from work to the game site CANNOT be deducted, but the mileage from the game site to your home CAN be deducted. Either way, I would definitely check w/ an tax accountant as some of the suggestions listed previously seem to be liberal interpretations (from what I know) of the allowable deductions.....

My Accountant Says ...
 

My accountant keeps it real simple. I give him the following information: total income from officiating, mileage for all games, scrimmages, meetings, clinics, and camps, cost of postage, cost of uniforms and equipment, cost of board membership, fees, and fines, cost of camps and clinics attended, additonal insurance not provided by our local board, and finally he allows me $5.00 per week for laundry.

TUrn in my cash payments to who? Are you nuts? I worked the game, so the money is mine. Unless of course, you meant, turn it in to my wife. :D But that's a whole other discussion.

As a fellow accountant, CPA even, I'm deducting the whole uniform.

Your subscription to Referee magazine would be another deduction.

Close but not exactly. Mileage to a second job (this is the case for most of us who are calling ball) is deductible to the extent that it exceeds our normal commute to our primary job.

For example, if you commute 15 miles each way to work. Your work commute is 30 miles. You leave work and then drive 40 miles to a ball game, then drive 25 miles to get home. Then your 65 miles to the game less your 30normal commuting miles leaves you with 35 deductible miles.

Deduct all the expense of your officiating include all of your uniforms.

If I get audited over this, I'll make sure to show them my pleated black Sansabelt pants and my patent leather sneakers and ask them if they'd wear them out anywhere.

You clearly have never seen how IRS auditors dress :D

I agree with most all the above, mileage not just to games but to your meetings also, fees, uniforms and I dedut for all parts of my uniforms jerseys, pants, shoes, socks, etc. all those items that I only use to ref in. I understand what "Eastshire" said above about those items that can be used for personal use but I take the opion that I can show that these items are only used to ref so I take them and let the IRS say I can not. Also with uniforms you can take cleaning, at the beginning of the season I take my uniform to a cleaner and then use the cost from the cleaner as the fair market value to clean my uniform for evey game. If you get your assignment by the internet you can take a portion of your internet fee, also you can take a portion of your cell phone if you use this to be in contact with your partners, asignor, or school (it will probably be a small part). You can also deduct for meals when you are outside the area that you live in (ie the county or city you live in) to call a game, you can take the actual expense or take a portion of the pre dieum allowance that the IRS allows for your area. Also remember to report all your income not just the amounts that you receive a 1099 for. You are asking for problems if you do not.

Wow. You had better hope you never get audited because you will get hammered for some of this. Specifically, you cannot deduct expenses you did not actually incur. If you did not take your uniform to the cleaners after every game, you can't deduct the cleaning cost. Beyond which, they will deny the deduction if you can't produce receipts.

I will say this: there has been a lot, and I mean a lot, of bad and simply wrong advice given in this thread. If you don't want to get hammered in an audit, I suggest you visit your local CPA to discuss how to handle your return.

That's a good idea!!!
haha - it doesn't hurt to try - right?

So, I'm dumb but, if I get $.32/mile for officiating then I can deduct an additional $.165 to reach the allowed $.485 by the IRS????

Just making sure I'm understanding...also cell phone...how much qualifies...I use it to call partners, AD's, etc...

Yes you can, if you are talking about 2007. For 2006, the rate was only 44.5 cents per mile. One way to do it is to include all mileage reimbursements you receive in your gross income, and then deduct the applicable mileage rate times the number of miles.

While you are technically correct that you can deduct the expenses of maintaining a home office, this space must be used soley for the purposes of being an office. Furthermore, just as a warning, claiming a home office is one of the major red flags that increase your chances of an audit. I'm not saying don't claim a home office out of fear, but you'd better be pretty sure you did everything by the book if you do claim a home office. For me if I were going to claim a home office, which I could for another business venture I'm involved in, I wouldn't do my taxes myself. For what I'd save by claiming a home office versus what I'd spend on an accountant, I just do my own taxes and skip the home office.