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Here's the list of our first-place finishers in all of our leagues. Congratulations again to everyone.



OVERALL

1. Brian Oldenski Middletown NJ



LAS VEGAS 1

1. Shawn Childs Forestdale, MA



LAS VEGAS 2

1. Jeff Peters Erie, PA



LAS VEGAS 3

1. Nate Ravitz St. Louis, MO



LAS VEGAS 4

1. Clark Olson Seattle, WA



LAS VEGAS 5

1. Kent Stermon Jacksonville, FL



LAS VEGAS 6

1. Mike Cameron Encinitas, CA



LAS VEGAS 7

1. Dan Kenyon Grand Junction, CO



LAS VEGAS 8

1. Kevin Rogers Deerfield Beach, FL



LAS VEGAS 9

1. Jesse Herron Alpharetta, GA



NEW YORK 1

1. Joe Thelen Garden City, NY



NEW YORK 2

1. Michael Caputo Brooklyn, NY



NEW YORK 3

1. Stephen Jupinka Waldwick, NY

1. Joseph Anello, Howard Beach, NY

1. John Paolucci White Plains, NY



NEW YORK 4

1. Douglas Jaffe Commack, NY



NEW YORK 5

1. Brian Oldenski Middletown, NJ



NEW YORK 6

1. Joseph Mullins Staten Island, NY



NEW YORK 7

1. John Hogan Philadelphia, PA



CHICAGO 1

1. John Swol Plymouth, MN



CHICAGO 2

1. Mark Yagan Overland Park, KS



CHICAGO 3

1. Steven Tavoso Chicago, IL



CHICAGO 4

1. Jeff Cooper Houston, TX



ULTIMATE DRAFT

1. David DiDonato Johnston, RI



ULTIMATE AUCTION

1. David Longood Salem, OR



LAS VEGAS $1,250 NL AUCTION LEAGUE 1

1. Kevin Dukesherer San Diego, CA



LAS VEGAS $1,250 NL AUCTION LEAGUE 2

1. J.T. Visco Monroeville, PA



LAS VEGAS $1,250 AL AUCTION LEAGUE 3

1. Carl Greer Gaithersburg, MD



LAS VEGAS NL AUCTION LEAGUE

1. Jeff Price Silver Spring, MD



LAS VEGAS AL AUCTION LEAGUE

1. Michael Zukowski Centerville, MA



LAS VEGAS MIXED AUCTION LEAGUE 1

1. William Tyrer Beverly Hills, CA



LAS VEGAS MIXED AUCTION LEAGUE 2

1. Ken Norred Ashland, AL



NEW YORK/CHICAGO MIXED AUCTION LEAGUE

1. Karl Mische Rogers, MN



NEW YORK/CHICAGO NL AUCTION LEAGUE

1. Phillip McDonald Huntsville, AL



NEW YORK AL AUCTION LEAGUE

1. Homer Charbonneau Schenectady, NY



$1,000 MID-SEASON LEAGUE 1

1. John Zaleski Mission Viejo, CA



$1,000 MID-SEASON LEAGUE 2

1. Kevin Bass Potomac, MD



$100 MID-SEASON LEAGUE A

1. Rob Conti Bronx, NY



$100 MID-SEASON LEAGUE B

1. Jason Aberli Louisville, KY



$250 MID-SEASON LEAGUE

1. Herbert Eroh, II Randolph, NJ



$500 MID-SEASON LEAGUE

1. Stephen Jupinka Waldwick, NY



$100 MID-SEASON AUCTION LEAGUE

1. Kevin Dukesherer San Diego, CA



[ October 05, 2005, 02:10 PM: Message edited by: Tom Kessenich ]

Just curious- this goes out to last year's winners.



Were you able to deduct the entry fee as basis for taxes, any of the travel expenses.

Pretty sure I have this correct:



File a Schedule C showing your fantasy winnings and all appropriate fantasy expenses. This would include entry fees, all travel expenses and, I suspect, any payments to sites providing fantasy information.



Given that fantasy is considered a hobby, you can't claim a tax loss but you can deduct expenses up to the amount of your winnings.



[ October 04, 2005, 03:10 PM: Message edited by: viper ]

Can you pay for plane tickets for next years event this year and also include them against this years winnings?



Anyway to beat that dumb a$$ Uncle Sam

I'll check at work tomorrow. I work for a tax lawyer so he would know. I do know that because you are likely a calendar year tax payer, any expenses you paid in any year other than 2005 cannot be deducted.



Another thing I will check is on entry fees paid. Normally, checks written are deductible in the year written even if they are not cashed until much later. If you sent Greg a check in December of 2004 but he didn't cash it until March, I'm not sure what "technically" is correct. The same may be true for credit card entries that are paid in 2005 but not processed until 2006. I will find out on these issues tomorrow at work.



Realize that "excess" expenses cannot be carried forward to offset next year's winnings. If you pay early and deduct some of your 2006 expenses this year, they will not be available to you next year.



[ October 04, 2005, 05:54 PM: Message edited by: viper ]

Viper -



Thanks for the info. Can we include all entry fees or only the ones in which we won?



Thanks.

I mistakenly omitted the other two first-place winners in New York League 3 since that league ended in a three-way tie. My apologies for that and here are all three winners from that league:



Stephen Jupinka Waldwick, NY

Joseph Anello, Howard Beach, NY

John Paolucci White Plains, NY

On Taxes -



1. Any expenses paid in 2005 will count towards reducing 2005 taxable hobby income. This would include any 2006 expenses paid for in 2005. If you buy an early plane ticket this year, it will be deductible in 2005. In fact, it is ONLY deductible in the year purchased so your can't claim it in 2006 if it was paid for in 2005.



2. Entry fees create a slight twist. Credit card charges are expense items in the year they are processed. Since Greg waits to process your CC entries until March, they are definitely not deductible in 2005. Checks are a slightly grey area. As cash basis taxpayers (that is what we are), a check is deductible in the year written even if it isn't cashed until the next year. The IRS assumes that checks are typically cashed within 15-30 days of when written. If audited, you may need some letter from Greg indicating that they wait on cashing checks.



A wierd twist is that if you claim a 2006 entry fee as a 2005 expense and then have to withdraw - thus effectively getting that expense back, then that reimbursement would be considered income and might even possibly be subject to self-employement tax.



Also, I repeat, you CANNOT claim a loss. If you won $1750 and claimed $2500 in expenses, you will have no income but the excess expenses cannot be used for a 2005 loss nor can it be carried forward to 2006. For league winners, it is likely you should take all the 2005 expenses you can find but for $1750 winners, a little pre-calculations may be a good idea if you want to buy that plane ticket a few weeks early.

We don't process the entry fees until after Feb. 15th as a favor to our participants. However, we're not adverse to processing them earlier or receiving a check if someone wants us to do that, too. So if anyone wants us to process their 2006 entries before Dec. 31, 2005, just let me know. We'll take the money early if that helps you.

Originally posted by viper:

On Taxes -



1. Any expenses paid in 2005 will count towards reducing 2005 taxable hobby income. This would include any 2006 expenses paid for in 2005. If you buy an early plane ticket this year, it will be deductible in 2005. In fact, it is ONLY deductible in the year purchased so your can't claim it in 2006 if it was paid for in 2005.



2. Entry fees create a slight twist. Credit card charges are expense items in the year they are processed. Since Greg waits to process your CC entries until March, they are definitely not deductible in 2005. Checks are a slightly grey area. As cash basis taxpayers (that is what we are), a check is deductible in the year written even if it isn't cashed until the next year. The IRS assumes that checks are typically cashed within 15-30 days of when written. If audited, you may need some letter from Greg indicating that they wait on cashing checks.



A wierd twist is that if you claim a 2006 entry fee as a 2005 expense and then have to withdraw - thus effectively getting that expense back, then that reimbursement would be considered income and might even possibly be subject to self-employement tax.



Also, I repeat, you CANNOT claim a loss. If you won $1750 and claimed $2500 in expenses, you will have no income but the excess expenses cannot be used for a 2005 loss nor can it be carried forward to 2006. For league winners, it is likely you should take all the 2005 expenses you can find but for $1750 winners, a little pre-calculations may be a good idea if you want to buy that plane ticket a few weeks early. Very helpful for us all, thanks Viper. Of course, I'm assuming you're right.

You get what you pay for!



I'm "confident" that what I said is correct. That said, I am a intermediate party in a series of conversations however I will be following what I said. Since I came in 3rd, my $750 will be easily offset by entry fee alone. If I placed higher, I would be pre-paying as much as possible.

Originally posted by viper:

You get what you pay for!



I'm "confident" that what I said is correct. That said, I am a intermediate party in a series of conversations however I will be following what I said. Since I came in 3rd, my $750 will be easily offset by entry fee alone. If I placed higher, I would be pre-paying as much as possible. Well, its better input than my tax software which is worthless on this topic.

I work in a CPA firm and viper has it right.

Can someone please tell me what schedule you use for Hobby. On the schedule I thought I was supposed to use it specifically states that it can't be used for "hobbies".

Viper, I think by reporting the income on Schedule C, you are declaring the income as business income (as that is what Schedule C is for), not hobby income.



I pulled this from a tax website (not sure which, but the same can be found on other tax sites):



"Do I have to pay tax on my hobby income?



You must include on your tax return hobby income. Tax deductions for expenses related to hobby income are limited to the amount of hobby income you report on your tax return, and can be taken as tax deductions only if you itemize your tax deductions on Form 1040, Schedule A. The tax deductions are subject to the 2% AGI floor."



So, in order to get the deductions being mentioned above, it would be for a business, not a hobby. The income would also be subject to self-employment tax.



Of course, this is coming from a non-cpa guy so take it for what its worth.

RotoSpin,



According to IRS Publication 17, hobby income is to be reported on your 1040 line 21 and deductions (which are subject to the 2% floor, not good) are reported on Schedule A. Given the unfavorable treatment of hobby income and expenses, you may want to look into the business income route discussed by others above (Schedule C).



To determine if your activity is a business or is not a business (i.e., is for profit or is not for profit), according to IRS Publication 535, several factors are taken into account including, in particular, the following:



(i) You were successful in making a profit in similar activities in the past;

(ii) The activity makes a profit in some years;

(iii) You carry on the activity in a business like manner.



There are other factors listed, and not one factor alone is decisive. Keep in mind that if you win an amount, but your expenses totally wipe out your income, and you don’t win again for a number of years, I believe it would be hard to argue that what you did in the year that you won (and did not make any income due to expenses) was a for profit activity.



Don’t forget, again, business income is subject to self employment tax so those winning large sums may want to look into declaring the income as something other than business income (e.g., hobby income).



Again, this is not tax advice as I am not a CPA

Guys, I would think fantasy baseball wouldn't qualify as business earnings or hobby earnings, but rather gambling earnings. Are you saying that whoever wins the $100,000 isn't subject to the same taxes as someone who wins $100,000 at, say, a casino?

One factor would be whether the 1099 supplied by Krause Publications is a 1099-MISC or a 1099-G (for gambling). If it's a 1099-MISC and you keep good records, then Schedule C could be appropriate for you. If it's a 1099-G then you might need to report it as gambling income.



My experience is that if you ever use the word "hobby" with the IRS, then you're starting off on the "wrong foot" and you are likely to get the least favorable tax treatment...



Also keep in mind that nearly all of the major airlines do NOT make a profit year after year (except Southwest Airlines) and it's still a business and entitled to all of its expenses as business deductions. You don't have to make a profit, you just have to be able to demonstrate that you TRIED to make a profit.



Be reasonable and fair, keep good records, make your payments and filings on time, and you should have little to worry about.



[ November 13, 2005, 01:52 AM: Message edited by: GoldenEagle ]

Whether or not a profit is made is only one factor considered by the IRS in determining what is and what is not for profit. Publication 535 lists 9 factors total (which even then are not exclusive). I would think that the airlines example is not the best one because they (1) were at some point profitable and (2) are of the type of activity that is what we typically view as a business. Playing fantasy sports on the other hand is viewed by many as a game and is played by many for fun (unlike an Airline that is usually not operated “for fun” and is usually not considered a hobby). I would expect, if challenged, fantasy income would get increased scrutiny as to whether it is a hobby or business. We will probably hear more now that these high stakes events have become more and more popular. Bottom line, I think merely “trying” to make a profit will not be good enough.



By the way, the IRS presumes that an activity is for profit if you make a profit in 3 of the last 5 years. If that threshold is met, then you have no worries. If it is not met, then you still can call it a business, but could be subject to challenge.

I agree with you, Charles. I bring up the airline example only to help those that might have had the false impression that "if you don't make a profit then it can't be a business".



For those in the 0/5, 1/5, or 2/5 years' profit categories, you miss the 3/5 Safe Harbor, but you are not completely SOL, it's just that your burden of proof is higher and multiple factors are back in play.