Selling Your Tickets? PLEASE READ THIS FIRST!

[E33Green]

I already posted this in the Stadium, but wanted to post it here as well.

I have seen numerous threads started here and in the ES Classifieds with stories of people complaining about not getting close to face value for their tickets or having to just eat them because they wouldn't sell on Stubhub or Ebay.

These people are unfortunately ignorant of a great charity that the Skins run, the "Redskins Replay Ticket Donation Program." All you have to do is fill out a one page form, make copies of the tickets and/or parking pass and/or tailgate club passes for tax purposes, and mail them to:

Redskins Replay c/o Washington Redskins Charitable Foundation
21300 Redskin Park Drive, Ashburn, VA 20147

In order to guarantee the tickets are used (thus earning you the tax deduction), the tickets must be received by the Tuesday prior to the game. Here is the link:

http://www.redskins.com/gen/articles...Replay_526.jsp

It boggles my mind to see people posting "I sold my $600 tickets to Eagles fans for $50 apiece." If you use this program, you get a full tax deduction from your taxable income for the face value of the tickets. In essence, you have recouped what you paid for the tickets (from your taxable income) and given people who are less fortunate the unforgettable experience of attending an NFL game.

I have volunteered for a similar organization called "Most Valuable Kids." My work included taking underprivileged children to Caps games with season tickets that Alex Ovechkin donates. You may have seen us in the "Ovi's Crazy 8's" Section, and believe me there are few greater joys than seeing these kids' faces light up as they first see the ice at the Verizon Center. For most of these kids, it is a needed diversion from the pain and suffering they endure every day.

I beg you not to let your Skins tickets go unused or sell them to opposing fans for a fraction of what you paid. Donate them to "Redskins Replay" and know you will be providing a great experience for someone who is less fortunate.

HAIL

[Mark The Homer]

http://extremeskins.com/showpost.php...54&postcount=4

[Forehead]

It boggles my mind to see people posting "I sold my $600 tickets to Eagles fans for $50 apiece." If you use this program, you get a full tax deduction from your taxable income for the face value of the tickets. In essence, you have recouped what you paid for the tickets (from your taxable income)

I know this is a worthwhile post, and I donate my preseason tickets to Redskins Reply. However, even after your edit, this is still misleading to anyone not familiar with taxes, and there are plenty of people like that.

You are not recouping nearly what you paid in real dollars. A $100 tax break will save you what, $3 or $4 bucks at most in refunds? Unless you're really teetering at the edge of a tax bracket, it's pretty negligible. Now sure, it's a nice thing to do, but these things are expensive, so I can't blame anyone for trying to sell them.

[Mark The Homer]

The following is my understanding of how this works.

First, unless you itemize, the point is moot.

Assuming you itemize - let's say you're in the 30% tax bracket (combined fed and state). If the tix have a face of $87 and there are two tickets, that's a $174 tax deduction. That means your taxable income is reduced by $174. If you're tax bracket is 30%, then you have saved 30% of $174 which would be about $50. In other words, the taxes you pay for 2009 will be $50 less than what they would have been otherwise.

If you're in the 50% tax bracket, then you have saved 50% of $174 which is $87 (i.e. the taxes you pay for 2009 will be $87 less than they would have been otherwise).

Disclaimer: I am not a tax consultant or CPA or anything like that. This is just my limited understanding.

[Forehead]

When I've done my deductions, I don't remember getting that much back for the tickets. Then again, if I was making so much money that I was in the highest tax brackets, I probably wouldn't be complaining about much.

[Mark The Homer]

This google cached stubhub listing of yesterday's Redskins vs Chiefs game tickets available as of Saturday night shows tickets being offered in pairs for as little as six dollars each ticket.

http://74.125.113.132/search?q=cache...&ct=clnk&gl=us

There are four pages of these tickets.

A few examples:

414 row 25 $6 each (face = $48)

427 row 8 $10 each (face = $87)

224 row 1 $25 each (face = $109)

127 row 15 $25 each (face = $109)

116 row 24 $25 each (face = $109)

So yes, had these tickets been a charitable donation, the contribution would have been beneficial to both the giver and the receiver, and it sure beats selling them at a huge loss, possibly to an opponent.

[RememberOsaka]

Mark,

You are correct that one must itemize to be able to deduct gifts of property made to a charitable organization. The amount of the deduction is limited to "fair market value" ... this would not be a good year to get audited

[Mark The Homer]

Haha. At least not if the auditor is a Redskins fan and knows the piss-poor aftermarket. lolz

[National Defense]

give them to most valuable kids instead if, like me, you have no confidence in the management ability of this once proud franchise.

[clint999]

When I've done my deductions, I don't remember getting that much back for the tickets. Then again, if I was making so much money that I was in the highest tax brackets, I probably wouldn't be complaining about much.

[newtomd]

I have used Most Valuable Kids this season and in the past to donate preseason and even a couple regular season games (I do not given enough back, and it felt better to donate a regular season game than selling them below face value - plus I never give enough cash to charity and this was a sunk cost so it was painless).

The donation process is extremely easy. Additionally, last year the user of the tickets sent us a great letter thanking us (maybe it was a generic letter that they sent to everyone, but it was well written and heart felt). Really nicely run program and a great cause.

PS I am a CPA (but not a tax accountant) and it made sense for me to donate them and take the deduction (personally, philanthropically, and financially).

[DCSkinzfan]

This google cached stubhub listing of yesterday's Redskins vs Chiefs game tickets available as of Saturday night shows tickets being offered in pairs for as little as six dollars each ticket.

http://74.125.113.132/search?q=cache...&ct=clnk&gl=us

There are four pages of these tickets.

A few examples:

414 row 25 $6 each (face = $48)

427 row 8 $10 each (face = $87)

224 row 1 $25 each (face = $109)

127 row 15 $25 each (face = $109)

116 row 24 $25 each (face = $109)

So yes, had these tickets been a charitable donation, the contribution would have been beneficial to both the giver and the receiver, and it sure beats selling them at a huge loss, possibly to an opponent.

So can these be purchased by fans? If so how do you find the weblink? Thanks!

[slow poke]

So can these be purchased by fans? If so how do you find the weblink? Thanks!

You can purchase tickets like this from StubHub.com, or by calling them. What happens is stub hub continuously discounts the tickets as game day/time approaches; and even after the game has started. So the longer you hold out to buy your tickets the cheaper they will become. Obviously the more demand for the tickets, the higher the cost will be and the less selection they will have. StubHub has a booth at FedEx (center field home side) and your tickets can be picked up there at game time. I think you can even go there and just buy whatever they have available at game time as well. However, there are other fee's involved when using this service. I think they charge like a 8$ per ticket processing fee and then you have to pay for either overnight shipping (if needed) or stadium pickup, both of which are around 20$ for as many tickets as you want I believe.

I've gotten last minuet tickets from the a few times in the past and have been very happy with the results. One time I had gotten 2 of the cheapest tickets they had available online the day of the game, that were in two different obstructed sections of the field. When I got there to pick them up moments before kickoff they actually upgraded the order to two tickets, side by side that were FAR less obstructed and much closer to center field completely FREE of charge!

Donating tickets is a great idea, but I completely support donating them to your Redskin fan friends and not to get a tax credit. I would rather send a fan to the game for free to support the team...

[albetros3]

I have considered this, however, I have done the math for next year's taxes and I have too many write-offs as it is, meaning my loss of over 8K would not get me back more than 1-2 K.....at the most. I am an amateur when it comes to taxes so if you know something I do not, I am more than willing to listen because at the end of the day I would much rather donate the tickets to a good cause rather than sell them off dirt cheap to people who could probably afford to pay more but won't.

[skinsmarydu]

I'm a bartender, and our company CPA comes in almost daily. I will ask him about any current law changes and post.
Before I got married I owned my own home, and he managed my taxes wisely. I'm not the usual tip-earner, I claim everything. (I've heard the worst day of your life is when the IRS audits you.)
Sorry, can't even begin to imagine selling Skins tix. Have only seen them in preseason play the Falcons in the dome, where I had NOSEBLEED seats on our side, their side wide open. Hail.