Professional athletes

[PAULM]

Getting a new client that is an NFL player. I know they have to pay taxes in most of the states and some of the cities they play in (he lives in FL, so that helps a lot). Is there any place where I can find which method of taxation they have to pay and how each entity defines 'days of duty' etc? Thanks

[Nashville]

Number of Games Played or Suited I think

I hope ALL of the professional teams by now have a method to issue W-2s to the athletes which have the taxable income broken down by state. This should be the problem for the employer, and I would observe that breakout.

The Florida advantage does not bail out of state taxes entirely, as FL would not have "credit for taxes paid to other states." However, it does help that at least half of the venues are likely to be in Florida.

[JohnH]

I had an NFL player as a client for a couple of years.
Their W-2 forms did a nice job of breaking out the states.
Sure wish I'd decided to charge for that return by the pound.

[PAULM]

I had an NFL player as a client for a couple of years.
Their W-2 forms did a nice job of breaking out the states.
Sure wish I'd decided to charge for that return by the pound.

How did you define 'Days of Duty'? I know Cleveland uses number of games played in Cleveland divided into the total number of games played in the season. I think all the other states and cities use number of days in the city/state divided into all the days being paid for during the year.

[Nashville]

Leave it to the Employers

Paul, I don't think you can go there in sufficient depth to define what you're looking for, and worse still, I don't know that all teams do it the same way or that all states agree on a way to do it. Even if you know someone in the Cleveland Browns (or Cavaliers) payroll department I still don't think you can get a single criteria from all states or all teams.

I doubt whether anyone on this forum can nail this down for you either. I'm aware of a lady who helps produce TTB State Version who at one time prepared several returns for the Minnesota Vikings players and she knows much more than the rest of us, but I doubt even this woman can attest that there is a single convention agreed to by all teams and all states.

If you prepare from the W-2, this is your best avenue. And, like John H, be sure you charge enough for your time. I personally know an ex-Detroit Lion who claims he had to spend a ton of money getting his taxes done.

[PAULM]

I know there isn't one answer for all. In fact, I have learned that there are several different options. I am just trying to find a place or person that can tell me what method each state and city uses. My only other option seems to be to call each state and each city. The All states Taxbook does not address professional athletes. I may end up writing my own book-not.

[Burke]

There's a lot of information from various sites obtainable on Google. I was especially intrigued by the Forbes article on signing bonuses and how much money can be saved on state taxes.
Might be a start. Can you imagine what somebody in the NBA has to go through?