General Cycling Discussion - tax time questions

Ok, so it's tax time, and I'm wondering how I can write off my cycling as a hobby (or maybe a second job, since I teach indoor cycling classes too)?

I'm also trying to figure out if (or how) I can write off my Italy tour, since it was all (or mostly) cycling AND it was all cycling related- I even went to a cycling convention (indoor cycling).

Any tips or suggestions out there? I'm pulling up receipts, and I'm stunned at how much money I spent this past year!

Koffee

I didn't realize you could take a writeoff for hobbies.This is the type of thing you need to plan before a trip.If say you did a few job interviews on the trip (ie one each day lol)or perhaps looked at some commercial real estate you were considering investing in each day I could see you making a case for writeoffs but just cycling unless you make a living out of it such as sponsoring tours I don't see how you could write it off .As I see now you teach indoor cycling(I assume for pay)perhaps you could make a case for writing off some or all the expenses related to and travel to the convention but a tax accountant could answer this better than me . This is a good reason for being a cheapskate while touring as lengthy travel can add up and most of my tours while so far shorter I have spent about the same amount of money as I would if I had stayed home.

Jeez, I'm not a "tax professional," but from some of your posts, I get the impression that you are (when not touring Italy) a fitness instructor? It seems like some cycling expenditures could qualify as business expenses. Maybe kind of a gray area, I dunno.

Well, if you think you've got a case... WRITE IT OFF!

I'm a photographer, I write off everything. "Do you try to make a living off of your bicycle photography?" (Yes, I do!). "Do you always carry a camera with you when riding?" (Yes, I do!). Who can argue with that? Not even uncle Sam!

Mike

Originally posted by Hawkphoto
Well, if you think you've got a case... WRITE IT OFF!

I'm a photographer, I write off everything. "Do you try to make a living off of your bicycle photography?" (Yes, I do!). "Do you always carry a camera with you when riding?" (Yes, I do!). Who can argue with that? Not even uncle Sam!

Mike

Unless the tax laws have changed in the last few years there's a limit to how long you can get away with that, though. If I remember right it used to be that you had to show a profit one year in five (three?) or the IRS considered it a "money earning hobby" and the expenses of a "money earning hobby" aren't deductible. Now, if you're a pro photographer and your photography business is making money then you can probably deduct a lot of expenses as being "for a shoot" but if you're a wage slave with a regular paycheck and doing the business "on the side" it's a lot harder.

You can sometimes claim bicycling expenses as a medical deduction. Ordinarily exercise equipment is not deductible, however if you have a medical condition and a doctor's prescription for bicycling for treatment of that condition, then gear is a medically deductible expense. But trips wouldn't be as the IRS figures that bicycling around your block is just as therauputic (sp?) as bicycling in Italy. ;)

I just purchased a TREK 7300 with before-tax money from my medical flexible spending account because my cardiologist wrote me a prescription requiring that I ride for treatment of my existing heart condition. The people that administer our flexible spending plan say the prescription has to be quite specific, by the way.

John