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Author Topic: Bowling and Taxes  (Read 12955 times)

Jorge300

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Bowling and Taxes
« on: January 20, 2010, 01:21:49 AM »
I am sure this was addressed before, so I apologize now for the repeat, lol.

I started using the Schedule C to record bowling winnings and expenses a few years ago when I did rather well in a few big money tournaments. But up until now I have used this strictly for my tournament expenses and winnings, and ball purchases, etc. But my question is, can league fees and winnings be added into this as well? I know most leagues are cash only and do not provide 1099's, but I was thinking that these should be included as well. Do others that use the Schedule C include this?

A footnote, I do not report 100% of expenses usually, just enough to cancel out any winnings and show a zero gain/loss, if possible. Some years that doesn't happen, lol.
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Jorge300

 

CPA

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Re: Bowling and Taxes
« Reply #1 on: January 20, 2010, 10:03:34 AM »
I do not recommend recording the league fees as expenses.  There is too much of a personal element in it vs business.
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TWOHAND834

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Re: Bowling and Taxes
« Reply #2 on: January 20, 2010, 10:38:22 AM »
That is a helluva question.  You can rake in $3,000 from a league and dont have to claim it on taxes but yet make 1/3 of that at the Tournament and you do have to claim it.  Seems almost hypocritical in a sense.  Just another reason we all love the USBC so much.  I am not sure this has been brought up before from a league standpoint but know for sure that paying taxes on winnings from the Tournament has been discussed more than once.  

If the USBC and Federal Government is going to force us to pay taxes on winnings, they could at least make the number a little higher.  $600.00 is not even enough to cover the cost of plane tickets, hotels, food, and entries anymore.  Be nice if they jacked that number up to about $5,000.
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Steven Vance
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michelle

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Re: Bowling and Taxes
« Reply #3 on: January 20, 2010, 01:10:14 PM »
quote:
That is a helluva question.  You can rake in $3,000 from a league and dont have to claim it on taxes but yet make 1/3 of that at the Tournament and you do have to claim it.  Seems almost hypocritical in a sense.  Just another reason we all love the USBC so much.  I am not sure this has been brought up before from a league standpoint but know for sure that paying taxes on winnings from the Tournament has been discussed more than once.  

If the USBC and Federal Government is going to force us to pay taxes on winnings, they could at least make the number a little higher.  $600.00 is not even enough to cover the cost of plane tickets, hotels, food, and entries anymore.  Be nice if they jacked that number up to about $5,000.


Not sure I would say you 'don't have to claim' the league winnings.  The reality is that it very likely IS income that SHOULD be reported.  However few people WILL.  It would be different if leagues issued a 1099-C for distributions over $600 to an individual.  The other element with leagues is that the distribution is often in a team name, not the individual...nevermind that the reality is that teams split the distribution evenly in most cases.  

If one gets a 1099, then simply include allowable expenses against the reported income.  

As to Schedule C, the record-keeping can be a PITA, but as long as you are showing a profit in the required windows (three out of five years IIRC), then go for it.  The key is to be consistent...you cannot change reporting tactics year over year which means that some years many be great and others not so great in terms of tax impact.
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dogman666

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Re: Bowling and Taxes
« Reply #4 on: January 20, 2010, 01:20:21 PM »
quote:
If the USBC and Federal Government is going to force us to pay taxes on winnings, they could at least make the number a little higher


This has been thorn in my side for a while now.  The 600 dollar figure has been inplace at least 30-50 years and never changes for inflation yet my salary goes up but does not cover inflation.
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Spider Man

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Re: Bowling and Taxes
« Reply #5 on: January 20, 2010, 01:27:29 PM »
Imagine being the lg. secy. handing out receipts for weekly dues!
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Zanatos1914

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Re: Bowling and Taxes
« Reply #6 on: January 20, 2010, 01:42:16 PM »
I wish there was a way to claim league dues as tax write off...
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r534me

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Re: Bowling and Taxes
« Reply #7 on: January 20, 2010, 08:28:23 PM »
Basically, if it's a hobby you can write off your expenses against your revenues and if the expenses exceed the revenue the excess cannot be written off.

http://www.irs.gov/newsroom/article/0,,id=172833,00.html
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TWOHAND834

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Re: Bowling and Taxes
« Reply #8 on: January 21, 2010, 01:15:10 PM »
quote:
Basically, if it's a hobby you can write off your expenses against your revenues and if the expenses exceed the revenue the excess cannot be written off.

http://www.irs.gov/newsroom/article/0,,id=172833,00.html


And therefore, if you claim expenses if you do your return on a site like Turbo Tax, you may not have to submit receipts to support those expenses.  I wrote off every penny last year and had return in bank 7 days later.  How can the IRS come after you years later in the way of an audit and PROVE that you didnt have the expenses?  They would have to go directly to USBC and have them submit all entries for that year.  But that still would not incluse plane tickets, hotel, food, and equipment.
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Steven Vance
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Striking Results Pro Shop
Red Carpet Lanes
Duluth (NE Atlanta), Georgia

If anyone out there is worried about the scores being too high, try duckpin!!
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Steven Vance
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Pinbuster

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Re: Bowling and Taxes
« Reply #9 on: January 21, 2010, 01:18:16 PM »
The IRS doesn't have to prove anything.

You would need to provide supporting documentation of the expenses in the case of an audit.

I have always heard you need to keep all filing material for 7 years.
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