IRS Calls Foul on Coaches and Referees as Independent Contractors
Youth soccer league in Connecticut facing $334,441 in fines and back taxes for failing to file employment taxes for two tax years.
The local desk of the New York Times takes this simple IRS enforcement action against Fairfield United Youth Soccer (EIN 06-1165796 Form 990) as an opportunity to mull over the professionalization of youth sports. But this organization is filing a Form 990 using a CPA firm as its "in care of" address, so they really shouldn't have gotten to this point.
The backstory is available from the Fairfield Minuteman newspaper. The letter from the IRS to the association last year pointed out that the president and and treasurer of the group were CPAs and that two board members were attorneys. Current club president Jay Skelton says that the association is appealing. Some parents gave the newspaper copies of the letters. The IRS also cited the organization for inadequate record keeping. For its part, the club claims that many of the referees are high school students and that the assigment of referees could be very fluid.
WMN readers probably already know that these sorts of employment issues don't just get nonprofits in trouble. The IRS web site FAQ about referees and coaches is written for school districts that try the "independent contractor" ruse (short version of IRS answer: forget it).
The Times article mentions the United States Youth Soccer Association (EIN 62-1178909 Form 990) based in Richardson, Texas. This is a $14 million operation with a staff of 30. It doesn't list any coach or referee expenses, but it has some expense lines that raise questions to this outside observer: Miscellaneous ($695,766), Housing & Food - Staff & Committees ($3,386,694), Promotional ($457,007, of which $322,064 is in the management & general column).
Comments