Are soccer fees/expenses tax deductible if the club is registered as a non-profit?

[sigmabody]

Obviously not disparaging anyone on this forum, but lots of people are bad at taxes. I think other people have also explained, but I'll take a pass on it as well.

Whether or not something is tax deductible primarily has to do with the nature of the money transfer. If you donate money to a charitable organization, for example, then that donation may be tax deductible (eg: if the amount of donations exceeds something like 7.5% of your taxable income). There are ways that people game that deduction (eg: if you donate an item with a value which is not obvious, such as a piece of art, then you can claim a reasonable approximation of the value, as long as the charity is aligned with the assigned value; many charities are "generous" with valuations, for example).

Note: "donation" is a gift, without obligation or expectation of receiving anything of value in return. Club fees are not a donation (they are an obligation, and you expect to receive training at a minimum). Equipment costs are not a donation. Tournament expenses are not a donation. A club fundraiser at which you donate money to pay for scholarships for the club could be deductible as a donation, maybe (if the club is a registered with the IRS to receive such).

Generally, deducting anything else on your taxes for club expenses would be tax fraud. You may or may not get audited/caught.

 

[watfly]

Obviously not disparaging anyone on this forum, but lots of people are bad at taxes. I think other people have also explained, but I'll take a pass on it as well.

Whether or not something is tax deductible primarily has to do with the nature of the money transfer. If you donate money to a charitable organization, for example, then that donation may be tax deductible (eg: if the amount of donations exceeds something like 7.5% of your taxable income). There are ways that people game that deduction (eg: if you donate an item with a value which is not obvious, such as a piece of art, then you can claim a reasonable approximation of the value, as long as the charity is aligned with the assigned value; many charities are "generous" with valuations, for example).

Note: "donation" is a gift, without obligation or expectation of receiving anything of value in return. Club fees are not a donation (they are an obligation, and you expect to receive training at a minimum). Equipment costs are not a donation. Tournament expenses are not a donation. A club fundraiser at which you donate money to pay for scholarships for the club could be deductible as a donation, maybe (if the club is a registered with the IRS to receive such).

Generally, deducting anything else on your taxes for club expenses would be tax fraud. You may or may not get audited/caught.

Conceptually you're correct. To nit pick, the 7.5% rule applies to medical expenses, not charitable contributions. Generally, you can deduct cash donations up to 50% of AGI. It's best to consult a tax professional and not a soccer forum.

 

[JeterwastheBEST]

Conceptually you're correct. To nit pick, the 7.5% rule applies to medical expenses, not charitable contributions. Generally, you can deduct cash donations up to 50% of AGI. It's best to consult a tax professional and not a soccer forum.

What everyone here is missing is that you can deduct it and use the Club's non-profit registration #- which is what I do and then let the IRS decide to allow it or disallow it... So while a "tax professional" may be invaluable, the real experts are the IRS... Don't let these Club apologists deter you from including in good faith fees paid to a non-profit on your taxes....

 

[JeterwastheBEST]

Obviously not disparaging anyone on this forum, but lots of people are bad at taxes. I think other people have also explained, but I'll take a pass on it as well.

Whether or not something is tax deductible primarily has to do with the nature of the money transfer. If you donate money to a charitable organization, for example, then that donation may be tax deductible (eg: if the amount of donations exceeds something like 7.5% of your taxable income). There are ways that people game that deduction (eg: if you donate an item with a value which is not obvious, such as a piece of art, then you can claim a reasonable approximation of the value, as long as the charity is aligned with the assigned value; many charities are "generous" with valuations, for example).

Note: "donation" is a gift, without obligation or expectation of receiving anything of value in return. Club fees are not a donation (they are an obligation, and you expect to receive training at a minimum). Equipment costs are not a donation. Tournament expenses are not a donation. A club fundraiser at which you donate money to pay for scholarships for the club could be deductible as a donation, maybe (if the club is a registered with the IRS to receive such).

Generally, deducting anything else on your taxes for club expenses would be tax fraud. You may or may not get audited/caught.

Do you work directly for Sleepy Joe's DOJ or do you just act like it?

 

[watfly]

What everyone here is missing is that you can deduct it and use the Club's non-profit registration #- which is what I do and then let the IRS decide to allow it or disallow it... So while a "tax professional" may be invaluable, the real experts are the IRS... Don't let these Club apologists deter you from including in good faith fees paid to a non-profit on your taxes....

You obviously have never been audited and potentially never will, but its a process that is not pleasant. You should also know that the IRS are not the experts. Agents often have a very limited grasp of tax law, although even remedial ones will understand that club dues are not deductible. If they open an audit they will look at other things, not just your deductions for dues. Even legitimate deductions can be disputed if you can't produce documentation which will be your burden.

Just because you can, doesn't mean you should. Good luck.

 

[sigmabody]

Conceptually you're correct. To nit pick, the 7.5% rule applies to medical expenses, not charitable contributions. Generally, you can deduct cash donations up to 50% of AGI. It's best to consult a tax professional and not a soccer forum.

Yes, sorry; I confused the two categories.

I generally don't get into deductions much for taxes; I make enough to pay a lot to the government, but not enough to take advantage of most of the loopholes (for which you generally need to be higher wealth than just middle class).

You're spot on with your later comment, also (which I echoed before): you can generally file whatever you like, even if you know it's tax fraud, and as long as you don't get audited/caught there will not be significant tangible repercussions. But for the original question, no, payments for services are not generally tax deductible for individuals, regardless of if the receiving entity is a non-profit or not.

 

[TopesWin]

Obviously not disparaging anyone on this forum, but lots of people are bad at taxes. I think other people have also explained, but I'll take a pass on it as well.

Whether or not something is tax deductible primarily has to do with the nature of the money transfer. If you donate money to a charitable organization, for example, then that donation may be tax deductible (eg: if the amount of donations exceeds something like 7.5% of your taxable income). There are ways that people game that deduction (eg: if you donate an item with a value which is not obvious, such as a piece of art, then you can claim a reasonable approximation of the value, as long as the charity is aligned with the assigned value; many charities are "generous" with valuations, for example).

Note: "donation" is a gift, without obligation or expectation of receiving anything of value in return. Club fees are not a donation (they are an obligation, and you expect to receive training at a minimum). Equipment costs are not a donation. Tournament expenses are not a donation. A club fundraiser at which you donate money to pay for scholarships for the club could be deductible as a donation, maybe (if the club is a registered with the IRS to receive such).

Generally, deducting anything else on your taxes for club expenses would be tax fraud. You may or may not get audited/caught.

Don't listen to this guy's advice. Consult your tax professional.

 

[JeterwastheBEST]

Don't listen to this guy's advice. Consult your tax professional.

Advice no; personal experience yes- this list is worse than watching CNN and FOX simultaneously...