Posted on 05/25/2015 12:07:40 PM PDT by WeatherGuy
Being a professional athlete is cool for a number of reasons, and one of them is getting paid a lot of money. One not so cool reason, however, is having to pay a lot of taxes.
There are quite a few interesting things to see here. The fact that there are so many taxes that it doesn't fit on one page is a big one. Nearly $20,000 for Medicare seems like a lot!
And then there are the deductions. McCutchen has already paid $27,000 this year just to have the right to be a professional athlete in Pittsburgh. Seems crazy.
(Excerpt) Read more at sbnation.com ...
And pays State and (sometimes) municipal taxes in every town they play in on the road.
He should be putting more into his 401k...
Gubamints sure has come up with all kinds of ways to fleece the flock, ay? Play Ball! Muh butt. Damn.
I suspect it’s why the smart money is all building in counties adjacent to Allegheny — Butler, Westmoreland and Washington — but somebody please confirm, ‘n’at.
There are annual caps on a 401. Most folks try to spread the contribution throughout the year instead of a lump sum.
No, the max contribution this year is $18,000 for people under 50. He is putting in $3000 a month. So assuming he is paid April-September, he will max out at the end of the season.
As someone at the site said for his 6 month season he puts in the max for his two week check of $1500. He has 26 pay periods. That is $18000.
He is paying 39.26% in Federal tax. Although the Pease provision will limit his deductions to 20% of his state and local taxes, he will probably still end up paying less than that, unless he has investment income and is allowing for that in his withholding.
The YTD shows $4,500.
No matter how much the tax, the American people always seem pleased that someone else is paying their “fair share”.
Great post, great ballplayer. HOORAY Andrew McCutchen!
Socialism Is Legal Plunder - Frederic Bastiat
Yes, he received two paychecks in April, and this one on May 15. So when he receives his final pay on September 30, he will have put in the max of $18,000.
I don’t know how teams that make the playoffs arrange their payrolls, but it appears he is receiving his entire contractual salary in 12 equal twice-monthly payments, pay out from April until September.
It is interesting to note that his Medicare tax has been impacted by the Taxpayer Relief Acct of 2012:
“The Medicare portion (HI) is 1.45% on all earnings. Also, as of January 2013, individuals with earned income of more than $200,000 ($250,000 for married couples filing jointly) pay an additional 0.9 percent in Medicare taxes.”
So he is paying 2.35% instead of 1.45%, and presumably so is his employer.
“And pays State and (sometimes) municipal taxes in every town they play in on the road.”
Yep, and for baseball and basketball players that’s got to really rack up the accounting fees.
he’s probably grateful he doesn’t play for Toronto
That was before all the tax programs that make it relatively easy now.
Obviously the 1% is not paying their fair share
/s
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