Tax Return
 

In the process of working on my taxes for the year and wondered what type of expenses do others on here deduct?? No! This is not an IRS Agent :)

well, bob apparently deducts the costs for his crack and whores.

I meant BASKETBALL REFEREE Related..Ha ha

The IRS is pretty explicit about allowable deductions. For me it's uniforms, shoes, equipment, State and local association dues, mileage when not reimbursed, and any camp fees.

First of all, I would highly recommend contacting a tax professional for the absolute best information on this subject.

Some of the things that I track are:

- mileage to and from assignments (minus anything you are reimbursed for)
- cost of uniforms and supplies
- cleaning of uniforms
- any dues/assignor fees that you pay
- any officiating related subscriptions (ie Referee Magazine)
- any camp fees
- lodging you pay for while attending camps
- cost of any officiating related insurance that you purchase
- meals eaten to or from assignments (this gets tricky as to what qualifies)
- If you do any contests for free (ie Special Olympics), that could be
considered a charitable donation

You can deduct mileage even when reimbursed, just be sure to include the reimbursement in your income.
Note that not every area reimburses the full rate or even all the miles.

Here, we're given an extra $2 per trip within town, and you can be sure I'm not going to skip deducting a 15 mile trip in return for a $2 stipend.

Thanks Snaq!

This is how my tax pro does it as well. She adds any mileage reimbursement as part of my officiating income and I then deduct all mileage.

I don't personally bother deducting things like meals (unless for an overnight clinic, camp), cell phone, internet or even basic laundry costs. I like to keep things simple.

I will deduct:

-Local/State Dues
-NASO Membership fees (listed as insurance on the Schedule C)
-Assigner's fees
-Mileage
-Uniforms / equipment
-Tailoring expenses
-Clinic fees and related lodging and meals
-Any volunteer assignments such as Special Olympics

As a friendly reminder, be sure to claim all officiating income, not just what you receiver a 1099 for. ;)

Are "honey do" items in exchange for sewing on patches [tailoring] somehow deductible?

"Mr. Gap, I see you've deducted potting soil, lawn fertilizer, and granite countertops from your officiating income. Why?"

"That's the price my wife charged me to tailor my pants and sew on my patches."

Don't forget ear plugs.

It was a pleasure debating with you, Snaqs.

When?

Probably does not apply if your tailor lives under the same roof. :cool:

I Love Lucy ...
 

Freddie Fillmore: What is the name of the animal that fastens itself to you and drains you of your blood?

Lucy: Collector of Internal Revenue!

What are taxes? :confused:

It are a small state southeast of Alaska.

Can Sarah Palin see it from her back porch?

The phrase is "hookers and blow."

(And there's gotta be some perks to this gig, so why not that?)

Billy...I mean Rich...to borrow a line from Snaqs, "No, but Tina Fey can."

All you guys reporting on either Schedule C or C-EZ?

I prefer "crack and hookers" myself.

There's a karaoke band around here that's named "Hookers and Blow"

Depends on your tax situation.

My real answer is that TurboTax decides for me. Looking at my return from this past year, it used C-EZ. It used C in previous years.

The one factor that will make this decision for most officials is that C-EZ is limited to $5000 of deductible expenses. According to my C-EZ, I had exactly that. That wasn't intentional, BTW -- I entered all my expenses separately and apparently that's where it ended up. I bought less in terms of baseball gear and uniforms than I normally do in 2010.

Those who work one sport probably will have trouble exceeding $5000, so (and I am not a tax professional) C-EZ seems to be designed for people like us.

Yes, C-EZ is most appropriate
 

How many of you also file for self-employment tax? As independent contractors, we're supposed to do that as well.

I would guess that if you fill out Schedule C and don't also complete SE, that it would be a big red-flag to the IRS.

All transparent to me. TurboTax does it all.

That said, if you have earnings (adjusted for expenses) of less than $400, you're exempt from self-employment taxes. This is one place where those 200 mile round trips to BFE come in handy and the trips to Florida and to Europe to umpire don't hurt, either.

I r us
 

I would think so, yes.

Just curious: how much do you normally buy in 2010? :D

No, but Al Gore can.....and he invented it too!

And if you add "the" to "irs" you get "Theirs". ;)

Fiscal year 2010 was the 29th year that I have filed a Schedule C for officiating. I deduct the following items:

1) Mileage
2) Parking
3) Toll road fees
4) Game fee insurance fee policies that I pay for myself (i.e., NASO).
5) Interest on the car loan for the vehicle I use for officiating; this is not covered by your mileage deduction and is pro-rated based upon the number of miles you drive to officiate.
6) Legal fees (:D)
7) Vehicle rental
8) Repairs/maintence of equipment (repair shoes, chest protector, etc.)
9) Stationary supplies.
10) Travel (motel and hotel)
11) Meals
12) Long distance phone calls (that is a quaint one nowadays)
13) Membership dues
14) Registration fees
15) Assigners fees
16) Uniforms
17) Equipment
18) Laundry/drycleaning
19) Postage
20) Publications
21) Education

MTD, Sr.

No hookers and blow (also known as the Charlie Sheen deduction)?

Mtd sr
 

So, assuming all your deductions are legal...do you show a profit or loss?

If you ask nicely, he may fax you his 1040.

Who is nicely?

mbyron, Jr.

Shirley you see my point
 

which is, if we can legitimately show a loss...think about it..we are doing it just for fun and of course a little exercise, gettn out of the house, camaraderie, and some etc here probably.

Check with your local tax professional, but my understanding is that you can only show a loss so many years in a row. I'm not sure of that, nor am I sure of what the consequences are.

You have to show a profit at least some of the years, (something like 2 out of the last 5?) otherwise the "business" becomes a "hobby". You would still need to report the income, but you cannot deduct any expenses because they would not be related to a "business".

Some years, I did show a profit. Not the first couple of years because of uniform expenses and such. But once I got moved up to a varsity schedule, the income ended up exceeding the expenses. Last couple of years have had more mileage due to the number of meetings attended, but the losses are not huge. I suspect 2011 will show a modest profit.

In LA, I suspect, that hobbyists rule the day.:p

I am so glad after skimming this thread that I don't have to declare my officiating income.

Have fun.

Will you declare mine? :D

Oh Canada ...
 

Don't have to, or just don't? I'm not familiar with Canadian tax laws.

We usually capitalize the R when referring briefly to the Old One.

My son is starting baseball this spring, but he's not Jr.

And how the heck did I get drawn into this? I feel like M&M now. :mad:

You've really become Mr. Pedantic Grammar and Spelling person this past week. Are there meds you can take for that? ;)

Or he violated the first rule and now has a whistle with a pea [sp]. And that has made him a tad grumpy.

Maybe he needs a few days lying on the beach in Miami. (The one in Florida, mbyron -- I figured you'd ask.)

:D :D :D

It was your turn. I gave Snaqs and grune the day off. :D

Basketball has been a loss for years and baseball/softball umpiring has been a profit for years, but the total for the two Schedule C's has been a loss for years.

MTD, Sr.

You only have to file the SE form if you show a profit from your combined Schedule C's (I file three: one for basketball officiating, one for baseball/softball umpiring, and one for my courier business) is $400 or more.

MTD, Sr.

Well as long as you're accusing me: I didn't correct anyone, but was making a joke.

Feeling a little sensitive after the light shone once on you? :p

I'd respond fully, but you'd critique my grammar and/or spelling. :D

Answers that are less than 5 words are usually safe.

I don't suppose you'd like to hear my opinion about "and/or" then? :p

That's the unwritten rule on explaining something to a baseball coach.

Fixed it for you. ;)

He ventured out from his comfort zone.:D

Don't have to. Amateur sports officiating income is not taxable.

Constable:

You aren't near Dog River are you? :D

MTD, Sr.


P.S. I really enjoyed that show.

Always listen to bob.

:D

I must be missing some deductions. I work Basketball and Soccer and have never been able to show a loss in either sport. Would you mind listing your deduction categories to help me see if I am missing something?

Ref2Coach:

First: You need to use the Tax Division of the law firm that Click and Clack use: Dewy, Cheatem, and Howe. :D


Second: You need to read my post on the third page: Post #32, Feb. 23/Wed.(04:30pmEST), 2011.

MTD, Sr.


P.S. If one were to use a laundrymat to wash one's officiating clothes and bought his laundry supplies (soap, softner, bleach, etc.). he would find that he would pay approximately $5.00 per load.

My officiating clothes are always washed as separate loads -- I never once thought about deducting those costs, but it seems (to me) to be a pretty customary business expense.

Assuming this is true, (I'm taking your word for it. I haven't visited a laundromat lately.) it is irrelevant unless one does in fact use the laundromat.

It sure is relevant. I am going to assume that the vast majority of officials have to buy the water they use for their home, i.e., washing the dishes, drinking, washing clothes, showering, toilet, etc.; we home owners call it the monthly sewer and water bill. If you did not officiate your sewr and water bill would be less and you would use less laundry soap, bleach, and softner.

MTD, Sr.

Yes, but I always try to file my taxes in a way that would easily pass the smell test in an audit. I guess if I bought separate detergent, etc. and had a meter on my washer to show how much water was used in those loads, I'd be OK, but I'm thinking the IRS wouldn't care much for receipt-less guessing.

These bills would be less, but would they be significantly less? Probably not.
Is there enough difference to assign an arbitrary amount ($5 per load mentioned above) for this expense? NO

Laundry ...
 

My accountant allows me $5.00 per week during the season for laundry. I don't think $60.00 will trigger any alarms at the IRS.

I have been using $5 per load for at least the last seven or eight years and my returns must smell like Roses (which is where the Buckeyes will be playing if not playing for the National Championship, :p) to the IRS.

MTD, Sr.

Unless you've been audited, I wouldn't be too certain about that. It only means it hasn't raised a flag. In the event you get audited, all of those miscellaneous receiptless deductions may get tossed.

You can deduct your big screen HD television and your satellite bill. (research/continuing education for the job) It will definitely qualify as a deduction.

Until the audit.

Audit? We don't need no stinkin audit!
 

I thought my tax returns were fine too......until I moved some investments and forgot to declare something back in 2007. In 2009 I got a nice note from the Fed.......ahem!

PS - In 2010, I got a note from the state of VA which basically said, "Hey, our friends at the Fed told us you owed them some money because you forgot something in 2007. HELLO! What about us?......so, I paid them too. :(

Like most I do a good job with receipts and all. But, this was an oopsy! :o

I don't see the big deal about declaring laundry costs for our officiating clothes, after all they are uniforms that we would not wear anyother place except on the playing court or field. In fact I never declared laundry until my tax returns for 1996 and I did that on the advise of an IRS agent who was a women's college basketball offical from the Washington, DC, area.

MTD, Sr.


P.S. This agent also told me that while IRS rules are that a business must show a taxable profit Schedule C profit two out of every five years, there is other critera that the IRS looks at before ruling for to allow or not allow the taxable loss for more that three years out of every five years. The IRS looks at the type of business, the gross income for the year (is it typical for that type of business), is the amount of mileage being declared reasonable, etc. I have had a taxable loss for my officiating for at least the last six years; and I have taxable losses in my courier business every year that I have had it active, I make a profit based on real expenses but the mileage deduction alone wipes out my gross income every year. What the IRS looks for under this rule is the person who, say a stamp collector (his example not mine, I collected US and US First Day Editions as a kid) who goes to stamp collector shows almost every weekend, delcares only $500 in gross income every year, yet has travel expenses such that he as a taxable loss of over $10,000 every year; and he does this for years and years and years.

I know of only one sports official who has every been audited and that was because a fan didn't like how he officiated a game and turned him into the IRS, he had never filed a Schedule C and was hit with about $1,000 in back taxes, interest, and fines. It was me. And there is a good story about how he got into officiating, but it for another day.

We'll be waiting. :D

"With bated breath and whisp'ring humbleness" (BillyShakespeare)
 

With bated breath.

October Referee Magazine
 

I've been deducting mileage to and from games for all these years, but, an article in the Oct magazine has me a thinkin:

The article, written by "An enrolled agent licensed by the IRS and Official", he writes, "If you do not go to work at your regular work location, but go from home to the game, those miles are not deductible. Ouch! Your trip home is also not deductible. Another ouch!"

He states if you go from work to a game, "Only the miles from your office or place of employment are counted as business miles."

"It is a Saturday (a day off from your regular job) and you head to the game, none of these miles are business miles."

He further states, that if officiating is your only job, you can count all the mileage to and from games.

While it may not amount to much really, according to this article, I may have been doing it wrong for all these yrs.....

PS - I'm a changin my name. ;)

Dewey, Cheatem & Howe ...
 

I've heard the same thing.

For many, many years, I have given my round trip officiating miles to my accountant. I know that he uses those miles as a business expense, along with dues, uniform, etc. I also pay into Social Security on my tax return for my officiating income. I'm pretty sure that there are not too many officials who pay into Social Security, so grunewar's post is not going to make me feel guilty.

On the other hand, when a judge rules, "Guilty", then my accountant is going to be joining me "up the river", and we'll both be wearing horizontal stripes, which are not as slimming as the vertical stripes I wear as an official.

http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6161/...ded18516_m.jpg

Perhaps I'm oversimplifying, but aren't most of us independent contractors?
We're not employees.

"Two places of work. If you work at two places in one day, whether or not for the same employer, you can deduct the expense of getting from one workplace to the other. However, if for some personal reason you do not go directly from one location to the other, you cannot deduct more than the amount it would have cost you to go directly from the first location to the second.
Transportation expenses you have in going between home and a part-time job on a day off from your main job are commuting expenses. You cannot deduct them." http://www.irs.gov/publications/p463...blink100033930

I file Schedule C, Profit or Loss from Business, Sole Proprietorship.

Every Party Has A Pooper, That's Why We Invited You ...
 

Killjoy.

http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4123/...5ef05648_m.jpg

Grune, I read that same article and ran it by my tax person. She is an enrolled agent also and also worked for the IRS and even trained their auditors. She disagrees with the article because the mileage under officiating is not for another job but is considered a business expense as an independent contractor.

I'm not changing anything, and once again, Referee magazine puts out incorrect information. ;)

Guess IRS Agents are just like Lawyers......if you don't like the answer you're hearing from one, keep asking others until you hear the answer you want.

I think the point of this issue is that the miles in any given day driven to/from your home (to your workplace) are considered commuting miles and not a business expense....you're going to/from work like anyone else and such miles are not deductible. The miles driven during the work day...after you've started work until you've finished work, are what is deductible.

I think salesmen often make their first and last stops of the day near their home to maximize deductible mileage.

I didn't read the article. Is there a change to the tax code this year?

This is the logic I've always used to deduct mileage to/from game sites using the 2010 IRS publications:

Publication 463
Publication 587
Also, Examples 1 and 2 that begin at the bottom of page 4 would seem to apply to officials.

This is how I do it. Being an independent contractor does not mean your commuting miles are deductible, so you do not include going to/from your home. However, people like myself with day jobs can take the mileage from my workplace to the game.

My tax professional disagrees.

There is one VERY important element in both of those examples...

She has an office in her home that she uses exclusively and regularly to...

It appears that fact that you do administrative task, phone calls, etc. at at home isn't enough to qualify for a home office. You must have an office space (room) that you use exclusively for job related work...nothing else....the same requirements needed for claiming a home office deduction.

I am a CPA by trade and agree with this logic and understanding. The bottom line is that people can't deduct mileage when going from their home to their place of business but seeing that we are not employees and running our own biz as "Contractors", then its a Biz deduction...Just my POV :)

One more thing..When driving to the gym..we are going to the client's location..not our place of biz or our office.:)

Thanks for chiming in, Rookie. This disagreement between professionals in the field is one reason why I am pretty conservative overall with my deductions and do not deduct anything for phone, internet use or meals that don't involve overnight trips for officiating and things like that. I don't even deduct laundry. I figure there's no point in drawing any extra attention to myself.

The client is your employer.

We don't have employers; we are independent contractors. Our client is our customer and we have to travel to their place of business to perform our services.

Technically true, I'm sure, but that still doesn't change the fact that your place of business is not considered to be your home by the IRS unless you have a distinct office space set aside for that purpose and only that purpose. Your kitchen table will not count. Most referees don't have a place of business at all.

As such, driving to/from a game from/to your home is considered commuting miles by the IRS, according to the article...and according to what I've heard before. Driving between from one game to another in a day is business miles. Driving from your day job to your game is business miles. Driving BACK to your day job after the game is business miles.

You are confusing the rules for the deductibility of a home office with rules for establishing a principal place of business.

That's a minority opinion.

I'm not confusing them at all. The point of the examples in the previously cited IRS publications was that the deductability of the miles was directly related to the deductability of a home office.

The only opinion that matters is that of the IRS. If you get audited and their examples in their publications pretty much say you can't deduct them, the opinion of 100 accountants will not matter.

Requoting the cites made by Altor from the IRS pubs...

Another citation form IRS pub 463 (note example 3 in particular)....

When E. F. Hutton Talks, People Listen ...
 

My accountant allows me $5.00 per week for laundry. I usually figure on twelve weeks, or $60.00. If they want to "send me up the river" for that, then so be it. As long as they don't put me in the same cell with Mark Padgett. I'm sure that cell would get pretty hot in the summer, with all that padding.