For newer refs, or for vets who are starting to take things a little more seriously, I'd be interested in hearing what kinds of items people keep track of for purposes of deducting them on their taxes. (This assumes that you report all your officiating income.)

I know that the following can be used as deductions:

Cost for anything that uniform related (Pants, shirts, whistles, shoes, etc.);

Cost of association dues and assignment assessment fees;

Cost of educational material related to officiating ("Referee" magazine subscription, camp tuition).

Are there other things that I should be keeping track of? I'm just trying to get a head start on it, since the end of the tax year is just about here.

Chuck

Mileage, meals, hotel fees if applicable

Don't forget mileage for travelling to association meetings and required state clinics.

With regards to mileage to games if you have a primary job.
The deductible mileage is the one way miles from your first job to second job (the game). The trip home from the game is non-deductible commuting. If you work a game on a day that you don't work at your first job, you get no deduction for the mileage.(assuming the game is local)

I also deduct a portion of my cell phone costs since it is used to contact partners and assigners.

Does this require you to keep a log for verification purposes? How do you know (and prove) your mileage?

Anytime you eat on the way to or from a game, you can write it off? That seems a little too generous for the IRS. How does it really work?

Chuck

I deduct my cell phone, and tax software, since I wouldn't need it if I didn't ref.


I also include postage and office supplies as well (envlelopes), and I keep these separate and only use them for ref related items, and extra insurance I buy from USAVB.

Meals are deductible when incurred in the conduct of a trade or business while "away from home". You are not "away from home" unless you are away from the general area of your home for a period substantially longer than an ordinary workday and it is reasonable to you to need to sleep or rest.

In a word, your hamburger on the way home from the game is not deductible. The guys travelling out of town for games and spending the night are the ones getting the meal deductions.

I've had some partners that I should have been able to put down as "dependants".:D

Tax software is always deductible, regardless of whether you need to file a Schedule C.

Remember to deduct any officiating related subscriptions -- Referee Magazine (NASO), if you are a paid member of Officiating.com, any dues you pay your state or local association.

All uniform and gear related expenses.

Camp and clinic fees.

If you travel to officiate, then unreimbused travel expenses are included. I take a few trips to work baseball tournaments each year and since the sole purpose of those trips is to umpire the tournaments, just about everything spent is deductible.

Referee Magazine has a pamphlet/booklet on tax treatment for officials. I'm thinking about ordering it, and it sounds like it would be perfect for you, Chuck.

Mileage is not as easy as it sounds. If you commute from your primary job, you can only deduct that additional mileage. I keep a log of every game worked, because that's the only way to know how much I've made and how much mileage I've driven. If a school pays mileage, then obviously you can't double dip.

Rich
(who used to live in Natick, MA)

[Edited by Rich Fronheiser on Dec 18th, 2002 at 11:05 AM]

Clothing cleaning expenses, if there are those that don't wash their own uniform.

While my wife was returning from officiating a state tournament, the transmission went out on our vehicle. She was able to deduct additional expenses for out of town lodging, phone calls, car rental to get home and to return and retreive our vehicle after repairs. Put a rather significant dent in her earnings.

Additionally, I have a volunteer ski patrol buddy that his tax accountant has instructed him to deduct the expenses of exercise equipment used to maintain his personal physical conditioning. This one seems a bit of a stretch to me. Agreeably, as officials we need to be in good physical condition to perform our job and hence earn money. But deducting the expense of a bicycle, roller blades, weight machine, athletic club fees, running shoes, exercise clothing, etc. seems far fetched. Perhaps someone here has some better guidance. Any tax lawyers among our people?

I am a CPA that has specialized in tax work for the last fourteen years. I don't want to be construed as dispensing professional advice here but I'll just say that I wouldn't go that far.

LMAO.... After the last few "partners" I have had, I can only laugh.

Does that mean you're deducting the cost of the chiropractor for back realignments?

:D

I deduct earplugs and the bananas I use to placate the howler monkeys.

I have a cell phone and I certainly do use it for officiating, but I use it for personal stuff too. Can I deduct the cost? If not, what would be the requirement for me to deduct the cost? Would I have to prove that I use it ONLY for officiating? I would be willing to get another cell phone if I could write off the whole cost, but again, this seems a little too generous for the IRS. Any ideas?

Chuck

Chuck,
Great question! I've been thinking the same thing!

Barry, do you have any advice?

LG

And what about a PDA where I keep my schedule, association list, expenses, and mileage? Plus hopefully one day the rule book and case book.

Originally posted by Jurassic Referee
I've had some partners that I should have been able to put down as "dependants".

Don't laugh but, I've had some partners that were probably wearing depends. How old is too old? I hope I don't stay out there that long.

Don't worry, the legs will tell you when.

You are really only supposed to deduct the expense in relation to your percentage of business use.

So if I had a cell phone and used it only for officiating, with the exception of a couple calls home to tell my wife I'm stopping off for pizza and diet cokes, I could still write off 90% of the monthly cost?

Also, how about if I didn't use it all for a month, b/c I didn't work any games or something. Could I still write off those months' bills?

Chuck

Yes and Yes.

So am I to understand that mileage can only be written off if coming from a primary job? Mileage from home on a Saturday doesn't count? Mileage to home never counts? Sounds like a bad deal. And what exactly is the mileage rate now?

Sorry so late to reply but I wanted to be a little clearer on the rules before I responed.

Barry, I am not disagreeing with you out of hand, but I would hope you can provide a clearer explanation as to why we can't deduct the mileage from the game to home.

As I reviewed the IRS tax publication covering this (Pub. 463) it would appear to me that you are basing your interpretation on that being an sports official is a second job. Why can't it be considered as a temporary work location? We are clearly not working at the same place day to day. And we don't have a resonable expectation that the job will last regularly over a year. If we are able to consider ourselves as temporary, we gain that deduction going from the game home regardless you are coming first from a primary job.

A little help on this would be greatly appreciated.

The mileage from game to home is called "commuting" which is nondeductible. Yes, I am considering refereeing to be a second job. I can't refute your argument regarding temporary work location because I am at home on vacation and don't have access to my research material but I believe that would only apply to your primary job.

There was a column in "Referee" magazine last year that discussed this and they gave the same interpretation of these laws as me, for what that's worth.

By the way, if you want tax advice, IRS publications are the worst place to look.

Thanks for the response,

I agree that if you consider officiating a "second job" you can't make the deduction from home to game or vise versa.

I just haven't seen it explained why we are obligated to view it as such.

I don't agree that reviewing the publication that defines the tax laws as the worst place to look. That is like saying the worst place to learn the rules of a sport is to read the rulebook. I will say that it could be better written but it is the rulebook we are suppose to follow to acurately determine our tax liability.

I would be very interesting in learning the month/year of the referee magazine in question that talks about mileage deduction.

Have a good vacation.

Deductions
 

Also don't forget to include laundering exxpenses for your uniforms. If your wife does them (like mine does) trust me, she'll let you know what it's worth.

Good Reference
 

See article by Jany Sabins titled Taxing Profession in Officiating.com's football section. Dated April 15 2002. You'll need to be a member.Good tips.

Thanks for the good wishes. Unfortunately, it wasn't that great. My wife developed double pneumonia and I spent most of it nursing her. Hopefully, she's through the woods, now.

I want to disagree with your disagreement, here. :)

The IRS does not make the rules. Congress makes the rules. The IRS is charged with collecting tax and they frequently skew their interpretations of Congress' laws and publish them in their publications to collect more tax from you. That's why they are not the best source. It is best to find another independent source for tax guidance.