horrified at officials

[ronald]

Stew,

Where was the contest? Sounds like it was not in your area. If it was in DC area, then most likely it was assigned by an IAAOB association and the association does not condone that type of officiating and welcomes comments of this type.

Unfortunately, some of the better refs call just like you explained it. In fact, I worked with one who made a call in the paint on his side as the trail from the backcourt area below the free throw line. This was in men's rec. To top it off, he is one best federation officials in Maryland for this year (he did the state finals tourney). [Understand the assumptions even if you do not agree with them]

It is not asking too much for them to hustle if they are in my area. Those games pay 35 per official.

[Nevadaref]

Originally posted by dblref

I am in northern VA and our rec comissioner asigns us the games. Whoever sponsors the tournament contacts our assignor and he gives us the games. We have several AAU groups in this area -- Gym Rats, Vogues, Fairfax Stars, etc. My schedule is more towards the girls side and let me tell you, there are some terrific teams in this area.

There is a separate web site for AAU girls and boys:

http://www.aaugirlsbasketball.org and http://www.aauboysbasketball.org.

Thanks bud. When I was with bd 12 I used to officiate some of these games at Montrose Christian HS in Maryland as they were assigned by our HS association assignor or his assistant. I just didn't know that they were part of some bigger hierarchy and national system. As I have gotten older, I like to see the whole picture and know more about the system and organization that I am involved with.
PS We used to work some games in No. VA, where I worked, at school like Paul VI and Episcopal.

Hey Ronald, those games still only pay $35? They paid that when I left 3 years ago!

[ronald]

Nevadaref,

I thought I knew for sure but checked my fee schedule and AAU is not on it but the cheapest rec type games pay 32 and rising star pays 35 I think. So, somehow that figure stuck in my head. To me 35 a game that lasts an hour is darn good especially when one probably gets a least two of them if not more. The bad part is sometimes so of the guys like to walk and officiate instead of hustling.

[Nevadaref]

Originally posted by ronald
Nevadaref,

I thought I knew for sure but checked my fee schedule and AAU is not on it but the cheapest rec type games pay 32 and rising star pays 35 I think. So, somehow that figure stuck in my head. To me 35 a game that lasts an hour is darn good especially when one probably gets a least two of them if not more. The bad part is sometimes so of the guys like to walk and officiate instead of hustling.

$35 a game/hour is pretty good, but you must remember that with bd. 12 you lose 11% of that off the top to the assignor fee and then you must pay taxes (income and self-employment social security) on the rest because those games are run through the association and paid by check and they give you a 10-99 at the end of the year.
Put that up against what we have out here, which is $25 per game/hour cash. It probably is about even in the end. Just don't let the bigger initial number trick you.

[bob jenkins]

Originally posted by Nevadaref
$35 a game/hour is pretty good, but you must remember that with bd. 12 you lose 11% of that off the top to the assignor fee and then you must pay taxes (income and self-employment social security) on the rest because those games are run through the association and paid by check and they give you a 10-99 at the end of the year.
Put that up against what we have out here, which is $25 per game/hour cash. It probably is about even in the end. Just don't let the bigger initial number trick you.

The tax implications are teh same, whether you get a 1099 or not. IT's all income.

[Man In Blue]

What is the most number of games you have done in a weekend? (Rec/ youth tournament)

[Mark Padgett]

Originally posted by Man In Blue
What is the most number of games you have done in a weekend? (Rec/ youth tournament)

Counting a "weekend" as a Friday night, Saturday and Sunday, the most I have worked is 24. Sixteen were running clock and about half were in middle school gyms. The other eight were on a HS court and were standard HS rules and time.

This was about six years ago. There's no way I could do this now, but I was even more crazy back then.

[dblref]

Mark P: "...even more crazy back then". I seriously doubt that!

[Back In The Saddle]

Hmmm, I think I worked WITH one of these refs this weekend. Fortunately I only had him for one game. As lead becoming trail I would sometimes pass this guy on my way down the floor. It was common to see him walking down to just below the foul line to officiate the action under the basket when he was the lead! Oh my. Perhaps he's been doing 3 man and usually works the C position. Perhaps it was the end of a long day. Just glad I didn't have to work with him again.

[Kevzebra]

Originally posted by bob jenkins

The tax implications are teh same, whether you get a 1099 or not. IT's all income.

Sounds like you need a tax advisor! I made over 10 k due to sporting events (officiating) last year and paid 0 taxes on the income. You can fill out a schedule C (profit and loss from a business) and expense off things like mileage, cleaning expense for uinforms, dues to officiaing communities or associations, camp fees, food, hotels, rental cars and other expences. You only pay taxes (fed, state, FICA ect) if you PROFIT over $400. Consult your tax professional. Also there are books put out by another organization that can assist you.

[Rich]

Bob was just saying that it was taxable income whether or not the official receives a 1099.

How you legally manage the amount of officiating income you receive (by offsetting the income with legitimate expenses) is up to you.

I know a lot of officials (who have quite a bit to lose, BTW) who operate on the theory that as long as the school isn't reporting the income to the IRS it didn't happen. All that to save, at most, a couple of hundred dollars in taxes.

Rich

[ChuckElias]

Originally posted by Kevzebra
Sounds like you need a tax advisor! I made over 10 k due to sporting events (officiating) last year and paid 0 taxes on the income.

Assuming that you did this legally, Kev, how in the world did you rack up $10k in expenses? Are you traveling to games by plane, and paying your own airfare?

And would you really rather pay out $10k in expenses, rather than make some profit and pay tax on it? I'm clearly missing something important here. . .

I know I have a reputation as being sarcastic, but these are honest questions. I can't imagine incurring that much in expenses.

chuck

[Kevzebra]

Most of the time, unless you are a "comma check" official, you can offset all income with expenses. I tried to include the income one year with my regular income and then take the expenses as deductions and would have had to pay over $800 in taxes. and that was on less than 10k in officiating income. Not a pretty picture.

But if the officials are not reporting income (ie getting cash or other), then they do run the risk of being audited and busted hard.

[Kevzebra]

Originally posted by ChuckElias

Assuming that you did this legally, Kev, how in the world did you rack up $10k in expenses? Are you traveling to games by plane, and paying your own airfare?

And would you really rather pay out $10k in expenses, rather than make some profit and pay tax on it? I'm clearly missing something important here. . .

I know I have a reputation as being sarcastic, but these are honest questions. I can't imagine incurring that much in expenses.

chuck

Well, I did travel over 17,000 miles last year in my car. Take that and multiply by .36 per mile (the allowable deduction per the IRS) that totaled to over $6,400. Then there is the other allowable expenses (consult your IRS 1040 book) and a few nights in a hotel, some airfare, meals on the road (1/2 of that expenditure), shoes, uniforms...and poof...the income is gone. You have to figure if you travel 70 miles roundtrip, the deduction is $25.20. If you game fee was say $55, you have already taken a 40% deduction in the game fee. Add $4-5 for a meal, drycleaning your uniforms (about $5-7 per time) and the income dissapears rather rapidly. Camp fees and expenses during the summer also eat up a good portion of the income. Plus the hotel, mileage and food for that.

[Kevzebra]

oh, and by the way, I took a year long tax class for my masters so I know this is all legal. I could have lost money if I had claimed all my expenses!