I don’t consider Tournament Direction to be a job; it is an avocation, a hobby and volunteer work at best. The rate of compensation for directors is abysmally low, perhaps the result of those absurd daily pay guides in old Rule Books or just the idea that they truly are volunteers. The only time directors make good money is when they are also the organizer and profit when turnout is good (or lose big bucks if it is a disaster) or when they are the chief organizational TD of a major USCF national event.
When you consider the amount of work and the length of the working day at major USCF, CCA or other large events, the amount of pay is just silly. Working 16-18 hour days at the World Open for $170 and then having that taxed is like pouring salt into a wound. I don’t mean to pick on the CCA, but that is just an easy example. It is not a job and should not be taxed unless the pay becomes commensurate with the amount of time and energy it takes to become good at running tournaments and doing it well, i.e. doubling the amount of pay to take taxes into account.
At the recent FIDE World Blitz Championship, they had a page up describing the Arbiters and their compensation. It was listed as a Stipend which is amazing, finally someone recognizing that it is volunteer work not income. A stipend is given for expenses while volunteering and is usually not taxable. I would love to see some organizers out there start considering the pay they give to TDs to be Stipends. Perhaps my definition of stipend is a little rigid, but my experience is with volunteers getting untaxed stipends.
Are there any tax attorneys or accountants out there who could comment on this? Does anyone else think this is a problem? Like in all areas, you do get what you pay for.
However, an organizer could pay a “per diem” for any out-of-town TDs. Per Diem allowances under the IRS guidelines can be fairly generous and could make some portion of the pay be non-taxable.
Mileage allowances are another way to compensate TDs for the trouble of showing up without that being taxable.
There aren’t many ways to give TDs money without it becoming taxable, but there are a few. The IRS has guidlines for the maximum per diem rates (which vary from city-to-city) and mileage allowances. You might look to see what other benefits can be provide tax free (donuts and coffee or soft drinks, for example).
Of course you can’t deduct money you never counted as income, but you’re better off not having the money ever count as income. I’m not actually aware of a “per diem deduction”, however. My understanding is that you can deduct actual business expenses, not “per diems”. However, you can be paid a per diem to cover expenses and not have to include this amount in your gross income. There are limits on this, of course, but they’re fairly generous (IMHO) and you can check the IRS web site for the rates.
Every little bit helps, I think. So I would encourage TDs and organizers to take advantage of the rules the IRS provides.
I know people who have been put through the ringer of an IRS audit. Since my TD income is small compared to my regular job I just take the safer route and declare it all (including that from a couple of organizers that have paid in cash).
If the amount gets large enough then you can look at setting up your own corporation (avoiding having to pay an additional self-employment tax). Since a TD has to be a USCF member, a non-life member may want to check and see whether or not USCF membership would be an allowabel deduction.
It was a while before I worried about it because for about two decades I directed the local scholastic tournaments on a volunteer basis. When they grew large enough and numerous enough that I could no longer find enough volunteer TDs to assist me I finally started charging the organizers for the TDs.
My TD pay hardly ever covered all of my expenses for being at the event. And on those rare occasions that it actually exceeded my expenses, I donated the remainder back to the Michigan Chess Association.
An in-kind contribution (gift in kind) is a good or service given to a charitable cause rather than money. This may be something that the charity can pass on to those it serves, something the organization can use for its own operational needs or something it can sell.
One caanot deduct a gift of labor or time. Only cash or goods. I get this question all the time in practice. The idea is that since you are not paying tax on the income from the labor you cannot take a deduction for foregone income.
I don’t know why you think setting up a corporation would save you anything. The so-called “self employment tax” is really just FICA for self-employed people. If you form a corporation and make yourself an employee, you won’t pay self-employment tax, but you and the corporation will each pay half that amount in FICA tax. Keep in mind that the corporation would have to pay you at least minimum wage as W-2 income.
If I am doing my math correctly, that comes out to $9 to $10 per hour. Not a great wage but still taxable by the IRS. As I recall, CCA and the USCF covers travel and hotel costs, so the pay is going to be close to 100% taxable after taking deductions for travel costs against those reimbursed expenses.
Working on the staff at the nationals and major events like the World Open are valuable experiences for a TD that wants to improve his skills. Making $10 per hour while learning an activity that someone enjoys is not something that I see as a problem.
I would say that the experiences I gain from working at various nationals and the World Open has improved my performance on local events. Not that I see my TD revenue as making a great financial impact, but at those local events the pay tends to be higher and the hours fewer.
The issue with the nationals is a matter of supply and demand. If there are enough qualified individuals willing to work for $170 per day, then the USCF would be foolish to pay substantially more than what people are willing to take.
This seems to get into the differences between labor and management which would speak toward the creation of a Tournament Director’s Union. At some point, TD’s need to start placing more value onto their services which would be the result from a rise in their self-esteem and seeing what they do and provide as something worthwhile. It is to the USCF’s and CCA’s and other organizations benefit to promote a culture where directing is seen as little more than Volunteer work. This was perpetuated for years by the really insulting daily salaries listed in the old rulebooks. Aside from someone willing to be underpaid in order to gain experience, like anything in life, you get what you pay for.
It would certainly be hard to live on $10/hour and there are VERY few directors who make their sole living from chess. At the 2007 US Open, the USCF and NJSCF paid me $900 to work nine 18-20 hour days to produce the bulletin. I did this as a personal challenge, to see if I could do it, so the money wasn’t that important. I can tell you that producing this kind of daily bulletin: the editing, writing, design, photography, layout game comments, getting to the printer each morning and then starting over again on very little sleep was TOUGH. It is WAY harder than being a director and paid a whole lot less at $5.55/hour. I wouldn’t do it again for less than $2,000 so will never have to worry about doing it again
Its fine for anyone to get experience, but at some point if you don’t expect more for yourself and value your services then TDs will go on being grossly underpaid. Wouldn’t a TD union be an interesting thing to see
Management knows it can always bust the union, by drawing upon the virtually unlimited supply of scabs who will volunteer for experience (until they “experience” some of the more extreme player types, and then must be replaced wtih another experience-seeking volunteer, until next round).
I don’t entirely disagree with you. Personally, it isn’t worth it for me to take two days off from work to direct at a nationals. The last nationals that I directed was Super Nationals in 2003. At the time I was self-employed and could afford the time off from my practice. Others might not see this as a burden and with the enjoyment that they receive from directing don’t mind the long hours and what you and I see as low pay.
I am the chief TD at a large local scholastic. Per hour the pay for my staff is better than nationals but not tremendous. I actually have more qualified TD’s at the Senior and above level “volunteering” to help than I need. Following your logic, despite the oversupply, I should be encouraging the organizer to increase the rate of pay in order to promote a different culture. Sorry, I don’t see it.
As a retired accountant I am used to long hours ; with travel and hotel costs furnished, I find this a very attractive opportunity. In this economy a chance to earn $10 an hour and while watching my favourite game is a plus. How can I get on this gravy train?
