RefPay

[24sdad]

I still prefer a check at the plate meeting...which is becoming more rare. RefPay is fine, as I have the money transferred to a RefPay credit card for personal use. Not many schools where I work use it (but slowly gaining popularity), and it varies from 1-3 weeks for those schools who do use it to deposit into my account. As long as I eventually get it, all is good.

Re: reporting to IRS...pretty simple - if you received compensation, be honest and report it.

I love the RefPay routine, or the other tournaments and summer leagues where we get paid automatically. I am against being paid at the plate meeting. In fact, for those who normally pay that way, I prefer to get the envelope(s) when I check in 90 minutes before the game. There are a couple of schools that are classy enough to have the AD find you at the car an hour before the game and pay you then and there. That works too.

I don't like the appearance of the home coach paying you right there in front of everyone. It's not professional at all.

It's seemingly a little thing, but it has always bothered me.

I hear ya and the perception of a "pay off" could certainly be misconstrued. Unfortunately, of all the HS in our area, I have had two with an AD who sought me out to pay me before the game. Some pay at plate meeting, some in later innings during line up changes and some that chase you out to your car because they forgot earlier. A lot seem to want to use a "voucher" system, where they get your information (SS #) and mail you a check a couple weeks later. Like I said, as long as the check arrives or RegPay makes the deposit, all it good.

[johnnyg08]

I hear ya and the perception of a "pay off"

Really? Who do they think is paying us to work?

[semper_fi_72]

I hear ya and the perception of a "pay off"

Really? Who do they think is paying us to work?

Exactly. All the teams know what the umpires get paid.

The visitors have to pay for the umpires when they are the HT.

I think schools that hand you checks at plate meetings or any other time on the day of the game are doing the umpires a service by not making them wait for their pay.

Always love the schools that give you the checks while you are in the parking lot. Pull pen out, sign check, use app on phone and make deposit to bank. Since they are usually less than $100 the entire amount is now available for me to spend on the way home if I want to fill the car up with gas.

Major thing I don't like about not getting paid on the day of the game is having to continually do an accounting of games worked and who has and who has not paid. Having to call schools to follow up on payments when they aren't paid in a timely manner.

[Kevin Finnerty]

Yeah, you already told us you don't like accounting.

And, so it bothers you when someone tries to evade you and doesn't pay you what they're obligated to pay you.

That's interesting.

[scrounge]

It is kind of a pain to keep track and hound the slow-payers, though. Being a financial weenie anyway, I use a spreadsheet to track all my games, pay rate, if the mileage is deductible (it isn't always), if the school has paid yet (!!!), etc. I also use it to note who my partner was, what position I was in, and any notes/issues from the game. I found the log last year was quite helpful for self-improvement and remembering mistakes, as well as tracking pay.

Once the school season is over, most games are pay-on-the-spot so it's not quite as vital. But the log part is still helpful when games start running together and it gets hard to remember what exactly happened in which game.

[semper_fi_72]

Yeah, you already told us you don't like accounting.

And, so it bothers you when someone tries to evade you and doesn't pay you what they're obligated to pay you.

That's interesting.

I don't worry about taxes, non are with held and I don't pay anything.

Oh maybe thats because I am so poor.

The expenses of a SWMBO and 3 daughters is all the deductions the IRS allows me to have.

Kevin

Above is what I said.

I didn't say I don't declare what I make.

I said I don't have a tax liability.

I didn't say I evade paying.

After taking the standard deductions and what is taxable from Schedule C, Schedule SE, EIC and a couple other forms, I wind up with a zero tax liability and even get a refund.

So get off your band wagon.

I would be happy to pay taxes if I was required to.

So stop assuming.

Oh and my Schedule C does list me as a Sports Official and it is how I make a living in today's economy.

[Welpe]

if the mileage is deductible (it isn't always)

I'm guessing you're referring to commuting mileage. My tax person has me deduct all mileage as game sites are considered temporary work sites and thus commuting miles are deductible.

[HokieUmp]

if the mileage is deductible (it isn't always)

I'm guessing you're referring to commuting mileage. My tax person has me deduct all mileage as game sites are considered temporary work sites and thus commuting miles are deductible.

Be careful, as your tax person may be wrong. And if that's the case, s/he isn't paying penalties and interest, but YOU are.

My understanding is that you can't deduct ALL mileage, just that for a game. Let me give an example from when I lived in Hampton Roads: my daily commute for my proper job (i.e., the one that pays a salary) was 76 miles/day. On a regular workday, I would leave from that job to do a game(s), so my commute became A -> B -> C -> A, instead of the usual A -> B -> A. So, any miles over and above the 76 miles are the deductible ones.

Of course, as I typed that, I do realize that you might already know that, and what you said was your way of saying it. If so, I apologize, and I regret the 2-3 minutes I'll never get back typing the above.

So there you go.

[Welpe]

I realize that but considering her experience and the fact she used to train agents for the IRS, I'll trust her interpretation. She has also provided citations regarding temporary work sites.

With home being A, work being B and the game site being C, I claim mileage from B to C to A. Same with tolls. I did ask her specifically about this and she said mileage as in your example applied if the second job was not a temporary work site which is interpreted as a place traveled to less than 35 days per year.

[mstaylor]

In my job many of my venues would be classified as temp sites.Is she saying I could take my milage from home to the temp site. For example, I build a stage in a cornfield used for shooting pumpkins, perhaps you have seen it on the Discovery Channel. I go there once a year.

[scrounge]

In my job many of my venues would be classified as temp sites.Is she saying I could take my milage from home to the temp site. For example, I build a stage in a cornfield used for shooting pumpkins, perhaps you have seen it on the Discovery Channel. I go there once a year.

As I understand it, unfortunately no. It's when you travel to a temp work site *from* your permanent work site or another temp work site. So going from work to a game counts, as it's perm work site to temp work site to home. Home to temp site is just commuting to work.

That's how it's been explained to me, at least. :)

[Kevin Finnerty]

It's easy to see why some people skip this tax-paying nonsense altogether.

[mstaylor]

I could play games because I do not have a fulltime job. Everywhere I work is a parttime job and many of them are not at a place of business. I have had as many as twenty W-2s in a year.