Can I write my gym membership off as a 1099 contractor soccer referee?

This is a tricky area with the IRS. Generally, gym memberships are considered personal expenses rather than business expenses, even when fitness is required for your job. The IRS typically views these as personal because they have an inherent personal benefit (general health and well-being) beyond just the business purpose. That said, there are some exceptions where referees and similar professionals have successfully argued for deductions. The key is whether you can establish that the gym membership is: 1) Ordinary and necessary for your business 2) Not something you would have purchased otherwise 3) Used primarily for business purposes If you're serious about claiming it, keep detailed records of your gym usage and how it directly relates to your referee work. Maybe even get something in writing from US Soccer that confirms physical fitness requirements for referees.

I had a similar situation with my work as a personal trainer (also 1099). I was really hesitant about using those tax prep places, but I found https://taxr.ai super helpful for this exact kind of question. I uploaded my 1099 and some documentation about my fitness expenses, and they explained exactly which parts might qualify and how to document it properly. For fitness professionals like us, they pointed out that we need to be really specific about how the gym directly relates to our business income. Like in your case, if US Soccer has official fitness requirements for referees, that documentation is gold for your case. It helped me separate what was deductible from what wasn't.

Wanted to follow up on my skeptical comment earlier. I actually tried https://taxr.ai for my situation (I'm a stunt performer, also 1099) and was really surprised. They showed me how to properly document my training expenses which is similar to your referee situation. They even provided template language for my Schedule C that clearly explained why the fitness expenses were ordinary and necessary for my specific profession. I ended up getting about $1,200 in deductions I would have missed. They specifically pointed out that the key is having official documentation of fitness requirements from whoever contracts you, which I'm guessing US Soccer probably has for refs.

If you're having trouble getting through to the IRS to ask about this kind of deduction (which I definitely recommend before claiming it), try https://claimyr.com - I had been trying for WEEKS to get someone on the phone about a similar 1099 contractor deduction question. Their service got me connected to an actual IRS agent in about 15 minutes instead of the usual 3+ hour wait. There's a quick demo video here that shows how it works: https://youtu.be/_kiP6q8DX5c I know it sounds too good to be true (I was super skeptical), but it actually worked. The IRS agent I spoke with gave me specific guidance on documenting business necessity for these kinds of expenses, including what supporting documentation I needed to keep. Way better than guessing and risking an audit.

Well I'm eating my hat now. After seeing that Claimyr thing mentioned here, I tried it because I had a complicated question about my self-employment expenses (I'm a fitness instructor). Got through to the IRS in about 20 minutes which is INSANE compared to my previous attempts. The agent confirmed that fitness-related expenses CAN be deductible for professionals where fitness is a job requirement, BUT - big emphasis here - you need proper documentation showing the requirement and how the expense directly relates to your specific work duties. For a referee, you'd want something from US Soccer stating fitness requirements.

Something nobody's mentioned yet - specialized equipment might be an easier deduction than the gym membership itself. I'm a sports official too (basketball not soccer) and while I couldn't deduct my full gym membership, I WAS able to deduct the special interval training app I use specifically for referee conditioning ($120/year) and the heart rate monitor I use during games and training ($230). My tax guy said specialized items directly tied to your occupation are much easier to defend than general fitness expenses. Maybe look at what specific referee-related fitness equipment/apps you could expense instead of the whole gym membership?

Whatever you decide, if you're going to try to deduct fitness expenses, PLEASE make sure you have good documentation. I tried deducting my gym membership as a stunt performer a few years ago (also 1099 work) and got audited. It was a nightmare. In the end I couldn't prove it was "ordinary and necessary" to the IRS's satisfaction. If I could do it over, I would have: 1) Gotten something in writing from the production companies about fitness requirements 2) Kept a log of exactly which gym equipment I used for work vs personal 3) Maybe even taken photos documenting my training for specific stunts Don't just claim it and hope for the best. That's what I did and regretted it.

As someone who's dealt with similar 1099 contractor deduction questions, I'd suggest being really careful with gym memberships. The IRS is particularly strict about these because they see inherent personal benefit in fitness expenses, even when fitness is job-required. However, you might have a stronger case than most because soccer refereeing has very specific, measurable fitness standards. US Soccer likely has documented fitness requirements for different levels of certification - if you can get that documentation, it would be huge for your case. A few practical suggestions: - Contact US Soccer directly to get written fitness standards for your referee level - Keep detailed logs of your gym usage specifically for referee conditioning - Consider splitting your approach: deduct specialized referee training equipment/apps separately from the general gym membership - If you do claim the gym membership, maybe only claim the portion you can directly tie to referee-specific training (like 60-70% if you use it for other personal fitness too) The key is being able to prove it's not just "staying in shape generally" but meeting specific job requirements that you wouldn't need to meet otherwise. Good luck!