Research Areas
Jock Taxes
“Jock tax” is a colloquial expression referring to the trend among tax authorities toward levying state and local income taxes on traveling business professionals, particularly visiting professional athletes. Jock taxes require that traveling professionals pay income taxes in every state where they earn income or have an "economic nexus." Some states have extended jock taxes to visiting musicians, lawyers, and even touring skateboarders. Jock taxes represent poor tax policy because they are poorly targeted, arbitrary in their enforcement, and impose an unrealistic administrative burden by forcing traveling professionals to file potentially dozens of state and local income tax returns annually.
Additional questions about jock taxes? Contact us at (202) 464-6200.
Articles from the Tax Foundation
- The Role of Congress in State Tax Legislation: Ensuring that State Taxation Does Not Do Harm to the National Economy (Testimony Before the U.S. House Committee on the Judiciary, Subcommittee on Courts, Commercial, and Administrative Law), by Joseph Henchman, May 25, 2011
- State Jock Taxes: Is LeBron Better Off in Miami?, by Aaron Merchak, July 8, 2010
- Testimony of Joseph Henchman Before the U.S. House Committee on the Judiciary, Subcommittee on Commercial and Administrative Law--Hearing on the Impact of Congressional Legislation on State and Local Government Revenues, by Joseph Henchman, April 15, 2010
- Game Misconduct: St. Louis Widens Jock Tax, by Kiran Sheffrin, July 14, 2009
- Nonresident State and Local Income Taxes in the United States: The Continuing Spread of "Jock Taxes", by David Hoffman and Scott A. Hodge, July 1, 2004
- State and Local Income Taxation of Nonresident Athletes Spreads to Other Professions, by David Hoffman, July 1, 2003
- Links to Other Tax Policy Resources, December 31, 1969