High Priced Lift Tickets

[4aprice]

Hasn't happened with other sports yet, as far as I can see, but a little research and its a doable family sport that is hard to compare with others.

Beg to disagree on this. Golf is often compared to skiing and I'm sure it has gone up, but we have another family recreation we do whose costs have soared and that's boating. (including water skiing). Boat maintenance costs aside, gas costs are what they are (and just like ski areas prices are inflated on the lake) and slip prices (in many ways comparable to pass and ticket prices for the lake) have really shot up to where I'm now paying, close to $ 145 /ft (IIRC under $100/ft when we first got our slip)

When's the last time you saw a BOGO?
Send a link if you know of one.

Colorado Gems Card - full of bogo's

 

[drjeff]

My accountant had me deducting 350 miles every weekend that I worked for SR. Basically every weekend from Thanksgiving until April.
No problem at all. Even got audited 2 times during those 25 years. Never an issue with that deduction.

I might have to ask my accountant about that for any weekend that I am a working the timing of a race...

 

[AdironRider]

Beg to disagree on this. Golf is often compared to skiing and I'm sure it has gone up, but we have another family recreation we do whose costs have soared and that's boating. (including water skiing). Boat maintenance costs aside, gas costs are what they are (and just like ski areas prices are inflated on the lake) and slip prices (in many ways comparable to pass and ticket prices for the lake) have really shot up to where I'm now paying, close to $ 145 /ft (IIRC under $100/ft when we first got our slip)



Colorado Gems Card - full of bogo's

The boating industry went bananas during COVID as it was the only thing really no one could fault you for doing during the pandemic. You are by default isolating out in the middle of a lake.

Those boats gotta go somewhere when they aren't being used.

That said, I'm noticing more and more attractive deals on onlyinboards.com this fall. Looks like that tide is turning as all those new boat owners get out of the honeymoon period and into the reality of boat ownership.

 

[drjeff]

Beg to disagree on this. Golf is often compared to skiing and I'm sure it has gone up, but we have another family recreation we do whose costs have soared and that's boating. (including water skiing). Boat maintenance costs aside, gas costs are what they are (and just like ski areas prices are inflated on the lake) and slip prices (in many ways comparable to pass and ticket prices for the lake) have really shot up to where I'm now paying, close to $ 145 /ft (IIRC under $100/ft when we first got our slip)



Colorado Gems Card - full of bogo's

Golf, for the most part, hasn't DRASTICALLY gone up in costs the last few years. Sure some greens fees and equipment costs have gone up a little, but nothing in my experience that much different than what you used to see year to year in Pre Covid times. Some of what I think may be helping with the relatively small increase related to golf, is the volume of new people who got into the sport during the 1st year or so of the COVID mania restrictions, and have then continued to play the game as things are now much more "normal" again, has lead to increased course revenues due to increaes in play volume. I know that many of the courses in my area have regularly seen annual number of rounds played increase in the 10% or so per year average the last few years, which has out paced the increaes in greens fees costs.

 

[4aprice]

Those boats gotta go somewhere when they aren't being used.

That said, I'm noticing more and more attractive deals on onlyinboards.com this fall. Looks like that tide is turning as all those new boat owners get out of the honeymoon period and into the reality of boat ownership.

Good point, however for me not an issue as it stays shrink wrapped on the trailer in the driveway.

Agree that boating went nuts during Covid but IMO so did skiing. I had heard that "covid boats" were entering the market as well. An upgrade is not out of the question if the right deal comes along.

For us these 2 recreations are life style choices. There is and always has been planning involved. So getting back to the original subject, one can get good skiing for a reasonable amount of money by planning in advance. What one can not do anymore is get up on a holiday morning look out the window and say I want to go ski today at Mt X and expect to pay bargin rate prices.

 

[djd66]

I might have to ask my accountant about that for any weekend that I am a working the timing of a race...

Do you get paid for this? I would think you would need to have income to utilize the deduction.

 

[urungus]

Step 1. Become a youtuber, blogger, etc. and make some money.
Step 2. Create LLC.
Step 3. Deduct travel.

Hopefully you have some charisma.

Ugh, so Skiology Matt gets to deduct his travel expenses ?

 

[AdironRider]

Good point, however for me not an issue as it stays shrink wrapped on the trailer in the driveway.

Agree that boating went nuts during Covid but IMO so did skiing. I had heard that "covid boats" were entering the market as well. An upgrade is not out of the question if the right deal comes along.

For us these 2 recreations are life style choices. There is and always has been planning involved. So getting back to the original subject, one can get good skiing for a reasonable amount of money by planning in advance. What one can not do anymore is get up on a holiday morning look out the window and say I want to go ski today at Mt X and expect to pay bargin rate prices.

I've been skiing 20 years and holiday periods were never cheap and didn't have deals. I do think the random February non-holiday weekend though has gotten more expensive.

 

[2Planker]

Do you get paid for this? I would think you would need to have income to utilize the deduction.

Paid is not the word...
It is "Compensation" My compensation in the form of a Season Pass for 25 years makes it A OK by the IRS.
Like I said, I was audited twice and that deduction was looked at both times and found to be 100% legitimate.

 

[jaytrem]

Ugh, so Skiology Matt gets to deduct his travel expenses ?

I'd be shocked if he wasn't.

 

[joshua segal]

When's the last time you saw a BOGO?
Send a link if you know of one.

While I haven't looked in a few years, I remember them as being a staple of the Ski Show. Perhaps it's disappeared in the interim.

 

[djd66]

Paid is not the word...
It is "Compensation" My compensation in the form of a Season Pass for 25 years makes it A OK by the IRS.
Like I said, I was audited twice and that deduction was looked at both times and found to be 100% legitimate.

I've always told my wife our house-hold should be classified as a Non-Profit

 

[deadheadskier]

Beg to disagree on this. Golf is often compared to skiing and I'm sure it has gone up, but we have another family recreation we do whose costs have soared and that's boating. (including water skiing). Boat maintenance costs aside, gas costs are what they are (and just like ski areas prices are inflated on the lake) and slip prices (in many ways comparable to pass and ticket prices for the lake) have really shot up to where I'm now paying, close to $ 145 /ft (IIRC under $100/ft when we first got our slip)



Colorado Gems Card - full of bogo's

$145/ ft is a steal

I pay $200/ft on Winnipesaukee plus shrinkwrap and winterization fees on top of that. I basically budget $10k per year to keep a 25' Cobalt on Winnipesaukee. That's slip, routine maintenance and fuel.

There's a 4 year long wait-list to get into our marina as well. Thankfully they haven't gone condo. Many marinas on the lake have and you buy their slips and pay annual maintenance dues instead of rental fees. I see slips sell on the lake for $200k+. Just a boat slip and a parking spot.

 

[jaytrem]

Colorado Gems Card - full of bogo's

Speaking of Gems, the new Parent and Teen passes are quite a deal.

 

[2Planker]

Yup Same in ME

$145/ ft is a steal

I pay $200/ft on Winnipesaukee plus shrinkwrap and winterization fees on top of that. I basically budget $10k per year to keep a 25' Cobalt on Winnipesaukee. That's slip, routine maintenance and fuel.

There's a 4 year long wait-list to get into our marina as well. Thankfully they haven't gone condo. Many marinas on the lake have and you buy their slips and pay annual maintenance dues instead of rental fees. I see slips sell on the lake for $200k+. Just a boat slip and a parking spot.

Same in Maine...
I sold my slip on Long Lake for more than what I sold the boat for

 

[Domeskier]

Paid is not the word...
It is "Compensation" My compensation in the form of a Season Pass for 25 years makes it A OK by the IRS.
Like I said, I was audited twice and that deduction was looked at both times and found to be 100% legitimate.

It's not ok to deduct expenses for commuting to your primary place of business. Maybe your accountant was taking the position that the SR gig was part of your primary business and the auditor didn't press too hard.

A dentist timing a ski race would likely not be so lucky.

 

[drjeff]

It's not ok to deduct expenses for commuting to your primary place of business. Maybe your accountant was taking the position that the SR gig was part of your primary business and the auditor didn't press too hard.

A dentist timing a ski race would likely not be so lucky.

I actually have my US Ski and Snowboard Association Alpine Official status with my timing certification, which is a stated requirement to run certain levels of races, and as such do receive compensation from the mountain whenever I am working a race, so it's not some volunteer only thing in this case.

If I can LEGALLY deduct a few miles per the tax code, great. If my accounant, when I run this buy her, doesn't think it's risk worthy, then won't be any different on my wife's and my tax return than in years past. Can't hurt to ask, since I am guessing that none of us, when given the opportunity to legally pay less taxes, wouldn't want to atleast ask a question about if you can or can't!

 

[2Planker]

It's not ok to deduct expenses for commuting to your primary place of business. Maybe your accountant was taking the position that the SR gig was part of your primary business and the auditor didn't press too hard.

A dentist timing a ski race would likely not be so lucky.

Sorry But NO
Primary job is healthcare for 40+ years. Weekend job is Patrol and as I have said it was OK'd by the IRS in 2 audits and I claimed that deduction for more than 25 years. Even switched accountants, got audited again, and IRS confirmed for the 2nd time that it was legitimate.

 

[jimmywilson69]

Interesting... Never understood that to be true for a second job.

that sort of seems odd, but you've cleared the hurdle twice.

 

[cdskier]

Has the IRS explicitly said it was ok? Or did they just not catch it twice? Or maybe that wasn't the focus of the audit so they didn't even look at that particular part. Every audit is different with what they look at.

I've never heard of that for a 2nd job either. Although I'm no expert on the topic so maybe there are certain scenarios where that is allowed.