Pro-fessional Tax Deduction.

[Zofarr]

So, I was watching the old televison (T.V for you younger ones ;) )and saw an H&R block commercial in which a trucker, and a band both had their gear put on as tax deductible. Which got me to thinking , and missing the last 20 mins of Obscure Influence.One wonders if Professional players could get a tax break on their gear, not that it is a large sum of money, but still even ollie wants that Dye jersey to be 59.99 without tax.Now If their gear wasn't supplied as it is,would their be a tax break? Perhaps the Mods can shine some light on this, or may be as clueless as the rest of us.

[Lopez17]

If they had to buy gear for their profession it's a tax deduction (which means they get a fraction of what they paid back). Cops who buy their own service weapons use this deduction. If you have to buy specialty work boots (steel toed for example) you get a deduction on this. The key is to have receipts. The other end of this is that sponsorship is a taxable item. It's considered "income" so the freebies that pro's get should be considered income and claimed as income. I doubt very few do.

As a pro, any travel expenses you pay out of pocket (including milage and potentially meals) could also be deductible.

All this being said, consult an accountant to do all this.

[Tweeters]

my accountant (Benjamin Steinberg) saved me loads of money from my travel expenses with that.

[Lopez17]

I had over 10,000 miles worth of deductions from my job last year as I don't get reimbursed for travel between local work locations in the course of visiting my employees. If you travelled for paintball with the potential to make money, airfare and car miles would both be deductible as long as you have receipts or a way to prove it.

[ase]

Haha, pros buying their own gear...right.

Your didn't think of that in the 20 minutes you pondered it? pros don't pay for their ****.

[Zofarr]

So, I was watching the old televison (T.V for you younger ones ;) )and saw an H&R block commercial in which a trucker, and a band both had their gear put on as tax deductible. Which got me to thinking , and missing the last 20 mins of Obscure Influence.One wonders if Professional players could get a tax break on their gear, not that it is a large sum of money, but still even ollie wants that Dye jersey to be 59.99 without tax.Now If their gear wasn't supplied as it is,would their be a tax break? Perhaps the Mods can shine some light on this, or may be as clueless as the rest of us.


:dodgy:

[Lopez17]

Haha, pros buying their own gear...right.

Your didn't think of that in the 20 minutes you pondered it? pros don't pay for their ****.

Depends on what you consider "pro" to be. There are some D1 and D2 teams that don't have lucrative sponsorships that may be paying for certain items or may not get a full break on the cost of paint to compete. Depending on the circumstances they could see a tax break on this....assuming they're claiming all their "income" as well. It's a two way street. Being a "pro" paintball player doesn't necessary equal a free ride for everything.

[ase]

That's why they're called D1 and D2 obviously....D1 and D2 are not pro. So actually, being a pro player does mean you get a free ride for everything by definition....because it's someone's profession.....It's basically their job (now I don't mean they're only job or not even necessarily their primary source of income. But when they go to practice, they consider it their job). hence, profession.

[Team Chokepoint]

That still doesn't mean that they get a free ride. We wish we could if and when we reach that stage, but that's simply not the reality at the moment. Very few "professionals" can afford to support themselves off of paintball alone.

[Crede777]

They call themselves professional because they're the highest level. Not because it's their profession. Paintball is who they are, not what they do.

[DagNasty]

I had over 10,000 miles worth of deductions from my job last year as I don't get reimbursed for travel between local work locations in the course of visiting my employees. If you travelled for paintball with the potential to make money, airfare and car miles would both be deductible as long as you have receipts or a way to prove it.
to compound the point Lopez is making, we deducted miles out to tournaments and trips to pick up paint skids for 2k5. There were other deductions which we chose not to use but might next season based on advice from our tax advisor (who plays on the team as well) :D

[ase]

That still doesn't mean that they get a free ride. We wish we could if and when we reach that stage, but that's simply not the reality at the moment. Very few "professionals" can afford to support themselves off of paintball alone.


So you're telling me all the players on the 18 pro teams buy their guns, gear, and paint? No, their sponsors supply them with that. I think we have different understading of "free ride". I meant all their paintball stuff.


They call themselves professional because they're the highest level. Not because it's their profession. Paintball is who they are, not what they do.

I would consider it their profession. Most pro teams practice at least 4-6 times a week. Yeah, they definitely have other jobs, but a majority of their time is spent on paintball, which they do in fact make money from.