Questions on claiming expenses on Taxes

[Mark T. DeNucci, Sr.]

Originally Posted by kgeorge0263

I've read some of the posts on here on what you can claim. Can you advise on:
I don't want to stretch things too far, but want to know what most officials are doing.

Things I have definitely claimed:

• Mileage
• Officials Gear (shirts, pants, shoes)
• Tailoring (hemming, patches, etc.)
• Officiating camp registration
• Dues/Assessments/Fines

[*]Food (actual receipts or credit card statements from before games)[*]Drinks (Gatorade & others prior to games)[/LIST]

What do you think of these? I know many of these are used for other things that basketball officiating, so that's why I'm asking

• Auto repairs in season (brakes, new tires, oil changes)
• Medical (cold/flu over the counter, prescriptions, doctor's appts, etc.)
• Cell phone (pro-rated?)
• Bluetooth for handsfree driving (required in NJ)
• Internet bill
• Home printer
• Laundry ( I know that's been questioned for $5 a week)

Oh..and good news...got my first sectional games for state playoffs, and doing a regional semi-final for Junior College. Waiting to hear about the NCAA's for Division III.

-KG

The items that I have highlighted in RED you can NOT (except if you claim actual auto expenses, you can NOT claim mileage). I claim all drycleaning and $5 per load of laundry. Food has to be job related, i.e., having a meal after the game with your partner to discuss rules.

If you are making loan payments on the car you use for officiating, then you can claim the pro-rated amount of interest on the loan.

MTD, Sr.

[BillyMac]

I've heard a lot of different things about mileage. Can anybody straighten me out, please?

Home to game? (one way)
Home to game, and back home? (round trip)
Primary "day" job to game? (one way)
Primary "day" job to game, and back home? (kind of a round trip)

Inquiring minds want to know how to stay out of prison.

[Welpe]

Billy-

My tax person has me claim mileage from my location to the game site and directly to home. Usually this is from work to the site and then to home. This will be pretty much a moot point this year though since they reimburse us for mileage here.

Don't forget to claim any tolls. We have quite a few toll roads here that are the most direct route to games and they add up.

I personally don't bother with things such as cell phone usage because the amount I could claim would be very small and it's not worth the hassle of tracking.

[BillyMac]

Originally Posted by Welpe

Don't forget to claim any tolls.

Thanks.

No tolls here in Connecticut. Not even one. But we've got an income tax, a sales tax, a gasoline tax, house taxes, car taxes, etc. Aren't we lucky not to have to pay tolls?

[Welpe]

We have all of those except for income tax. We have (relatively) cheap gas, too!

[BillyMac]

Originally Posted by Welpe

We have all of those except for income tax. We have (relatively) cheap gas, too!

Yeah. Go ahead. Rub it in.

$2.89 per gallon for regular, self serve, credit card.

[Camron Rust]

Originally Posted by Welpe

Billy-

My tax person has me claim mileage from my location to the game site and directly to home. ...This will be pretty much a moot point this year though since they reimburse us for mileage here.

I'm pretty sure you still need to claim the mileage reimbursement as income and then take the deduction. The $ may or may not come out the same depending on whether the remimbursement amount is the same as the deductable amount (they are not for most people around here because the mileage pay is from a central point and is not at the full IRS rate). If for no other reason, it would serve to dot the I's and cross the T's should there ever be a question about whether you reported all of your income. No need giving the IRS a reason to cause you grief.

[Welpe]

Good point, I was planning on listing all of it in detail so I guess it wouldn't be a moot point then.

[kgeorge0263]

Thanks for everyone that got back to me. I finished my taxes with Turbotax and will send in. Luckily bought a house and new car so I get those tax rebates.

I claimed in the 2009 year $5k in income and $4,200 in expenses. Not sure why we do this except for the love of the game (mileage though is very generous at 55 cents per mile).

I did not claim any laundry, cell phone, auto repairs, medical, printer, etc.

Oh...and I got a Jr. College Women's Regional Championship game, a National Christian College women's championships playoff game, and a HS State Sectional Semi-Final and Final game...very excited!

-KG

[jdw3018]

Originally Posted by BillyMac

I've heard a lot of different things about mileage. Can anybody straighten me out, please?

Home to game? (one way)
Home to game, and back home? (round trip)
Primary "day" job to game? (one way)
Primary "day" job to game, and back home? (kind of a round trip)

Inquiring minds want to know how to stay out of prison.

BillyMac. You can claim round trip mileage. You can claim it directly from home or work. If you drive from work to home, then to the game, you cannot claim the work-to-home portion.

You can claim mileage to games, to meetings, to camps, etc.

[BillyMac]

Originally Posted by Mark T. DeNucci, Sr.

The items that I have highlighted in RED you can NOT (except if you claim actual auto expenses, you can NOT claim mileage). I claim all drycleaning and $5 per load of laundry. Food has to be job related, i.e., having a meal after the game with your partner to discuss rules. If you are making loan payments on the car you use for officiating, then you can claim the pro-rated amount of interest on the loan.

And I'm going to take tax advice from a structural engineer? Tell me what bridges I can safely drive over in the Greater Toledo, Ohio, area, and I'll listen with bated breath. But tax advice? I don't know?