With a rash of suspensions and fines among NHL players this past month, we explore the tax consequences of these two forms of punishments Over the past month, the NHL has taken several disciplinary actions against its players resulting in both suspensions and fines.  In late January, Boston Bruins Forward Brad Marchand was fined $10,000 for his trip on Detroit’s Niklas Kronwall.  Last week, the NHL suspended Detroit Red Wings Forward Gustav Nyquist for six games after he inte

Were you fined by your team or the league this past year? The Internal Revenue Service [IRS] considers fines an ‘ordinary and necessary’ business expense and so you can claim fines as expenses on your income taxes. Now I wouldn’t encourage you to receive additional fines, but I would encourage you to keep track of the amount if you are fined so you can deduct the fines from your earned income, lower your taxes, and hopefully lessen the sting of the actual fine. #fines #taxret

The Cautionary tale of Darryl Strawberry’s Battle with the IRS Darryl Strawberry’s tax and financial troubles tell a cautionary tale about how professional athletes can become prime targets for the IRS. Strawberry, whose career ran from 1983 to 1999, is still battling the IRS, according to a Notice of Levy reportedly sent to HarperCollins Publishing for $405,522 in back taxes, penalties and interest. These tax issues came to light when Tracy Strawberry, Darryl’s third wife,

With the large fines being imposed by the National football League this past month as well as the talk of possible suspensions in the future for head-to-head tackles, I decided to review the tax implications for both fines and suspension to learn which scenario has the best tax consequence for athletes. This article will address two questions from an income tax stand point. First, how are fines and suspensions treated by the Internal Revenue Service [IRS]? Second, is there an