What Is the Jock Tax? A Comprehensive Guide for Athletes and Entertainers
- Nicole Winston, CPA
- Aug 4
- 18 min read
This guide explains how the jock tax works: what it is, who it applies to, and why multi-state income matters for athletes and entertainers. Whether you’re negotiating a new contract, planning a tour, or managing NIL earnings, you can explore how to stay tax-compliant across states by visiting The Winston CPA Group’s Sports & Taxes page.
Professional athletes like LeBron James or Joe Burrow, and touring performers such as Beyoncé or Cirque du Soleil, enjoy fame and high earnings – but they also face a unique tax complication. When these stars play games or perform shows across multiple states, they incur what’s popularly known as the “jock tax.” In simple terms, states and cities often demand income tax from visiting athletes and entertainers on the money they earned in that locale. This jock tax guide will break down the who, what, where, when, why, and how of the jock tax from an accounting and tax perspective. We’ll also cover key laws, court cases, and FAQs so you can understand this tax in depth.
Who Has to Pay the Jock Tax?
The term “jock tax” might suggest it only targets superstar athletes, but it actually applies to anyone who earns income by working in multiple states – especially high-profile nonresidents. That includes professional players (from the NFL, NBA, MLB, NHL, etc.), coaches, trainers, and team staff who travel for games. It’s not just sports, either. Entertainers on tour – from musicians like Beyoncé to traveling shows like Cirque du Soleil – also fall under these taxes when they perform in a state where they don’t live. Even lesser-paid athletes and staff are affected: for example, minor-league players, rookie athletes, or crew members still have to file in each state they work, despite more modest incomes. You can also be a traveling consultant and find yourself owing the jock tax" without realizing it.
In short, any athlete, performer, or entrepreneur who works in a state with an income tax may owe that state a tax on the money earned during their visit. It’s important to note that this is not a separate special tax rate for athletes – it’s the normal state (or city) income tax applied to nonresidents on the portion of income they earned locally. Athletes and entertainers are simply very visible targets for enforcement because their salaries and schedules are public knowledge. Tax authorities can easily calculate what portion of a big contract was earned in their state and send a bill.
What Exactly Is the Jock Tax?
The jock tax is essentially a nickname for the income tax levied on visiting professionals – typically athletes and entertainers – by states (and some cities) where they perform. If you earn income in State A but live in State B, State A wants its “slice of the pie.” For example, suppose an NBA player earns a $10 million salary in a year. If 10% of their working days (games, practices, etc.) were in California, then California might tax roughly 10% of that salary at California’s tax rates. Think of a player's or performer’s annual income as a pie, and each state where they worked during the year is trying to claim a slice in proportion to the work done there.
From an accounting perspective, states calculate the taxable income allocation for nonresidents using an apportionment formula. The most common method is the “duty days” approach: the ratio of days you worked in the state to total days you worked that year. All kinds of compensation tied to those days count – game checks, performance fees, and even championship bonuses or prizes earned in the state are included. (Notably, endorsement income is usually exempt from other states’ taxes and only taxed where you live, since it’s not tied to performing services in each state). The end result is that athletes and entertainers often owe small portions of their income to many different jurisdictions.
Is it a separate tax? No, it’s just each state enforcing its existing income tax laws on nonresidents. The “jock tax” nickname caught on because of how aggressively states pursue wealthy athletes. But any worker who travels for income could technically face the same requirement. In practice, states set minimum income thresholds so that only significant earners (like pro athletes on big contracts or major touring acts) trigger filing requirements.
When Did the Jock Tax Start?
State taxation of nonresident income isn’t new – some form of jock tax existed as far back as the 1960s or 1970s in isolated cases. However, the modern jock tax era really kicked off in 1991, thanks to an incident involving Michael Jordan. After Michael Jordan’s Chicago Bulls beat the LA Lakers in the 1991 NBA Finals, California decided to get the last laugh by taxing Jordan and his teammates for the income earned during the championship games in Los Angeles. This was a highly publicized move – Jordan, an Illinois resident, suddenly owed California state tax for a few days of work there.
Illinois lawmakers responded in kind. Infuriated by California’s move, Illinois quickly passed what became known as “Michael Jordan’s Revenge” – a law that said if any state taxed Illinois athletes, Illinois would tax athletes from that state playing in Illinois. This tit-for-tat sparked a trend. Other states saw an opportunity to tap into the lucrative incomes of visiting sports stars (who, being nonresidents, also conveniently can’t vote in those states). Throughout the 1990s, more and more states jumped on board with their own jock tax measures. What began as a petty interstate sports rivalry soon became standard practice.
Today, almost every state that has a major sports team and a state income tax imposes a jock tax. The few exceptions are states that simply don’t have a personal income tax. If a state has no income tax, it can’t tax visiting earnings either. For instance, Florida, Texas, Nevada, Washington, and Tennessee are among the states with pro sports franchises that do not levy an income tax on player earnings. (Washington D.C. also doesn’t tax nonresident income due to federal law). Aside from those, virtually every other state – from California to New York to Illinois – is pulling in revenue via jock taxes.
Where Does the Jock Tax Apply?
The jock tax is primarily a U.S. phenomenon at the state and local level. Anywhere in the U.S. that an athlete or entertainer travels to work, if that place has an income tax, a jock tax likely applies. As of today, more than 20 states enforce these nonresident athlete taxes, along with numerous cities that have local income taxes. For example, cities like Cleveland, Pittsburgh, Detroit, Kansas City and others with professional sports venues impose their own local “jock taxes” or fees on top of the state tax. By contrast, if a game or concert is in a state with no income tax (such as Florida, Texas, Nevada, Washington, or post-2016 Tennessee), neither the state nor city will tax the performer’s income there. This is one reason many athletes choose to live in no-tax states like Florida – their home games (and often signing bonuses) won’t be taxed at the state level. However, even those athletes can’t escape paying taxes elsewhere when they go on the road.
It’s worth noting that the exact rules vary by state. Some states have formal regulations for withholding taxes from entertainment or sporting event income. For instance, one state might require event organizers to withhold a flat percentage of a nonresident performer’s pay at the source. Others simply rely on the individuals to file returns after the fact. But the broad principle is the same: if you earn income in their jurisdiction, they want their cut.
Why Does the Jock Tax Exist?
On the surface, the justification for jock taxes is similar to any income tax: if you earn money within a state, that state argues you should pay your fair share for public services provided during your work there. Local athletes already pay tax on their salaries as residents, so states feel visiting players should also contribute for the portion of income tied to their locale. There’s also an element of revenue opportunism. Athletes and celebrities are high earners, and for states hungry for revenue, it’s politically easier to tax wealthy nonresidents who can’t vote them out of office[14]. The 1990s expansion of jock taxes was fueled by the realization that states could pull in extra dollars from rival teams’ players without taxing their own voters.
However, the economic impact of jock taxes is relatively small. Even though the sums sound large in absolute terms, they make up a tiny fraction of state budgets. A study estimated that if all remaining 2020 pro sports games had been canceled (due to a pandemic, for example), the total jock tax revenue loss across 20 states and D.C. would have been about $295 million, only ~0.1% of those states’ income tax collections. And that estimate didn’t account for tax credits that offset much of the difference (more on that shortly). In essence, jock taxes mostly shift revenue between states rather than create new wealth – for every tax dollar one state collects from visiting players, it often gives up a similar dollar by crediting its resident players for taxes paid elsewhere.
States have tried to boost their take with creative (and aggressive) twists, but these often run into legal trouble. For example, Tennessee once charged a flat \$2,500 per game “privilege tax” on visiting NHL and NBA players (capped at \$7,500/year) instead of using a percentage of income. This was justified as helping fund local arenas, but it meant a low-paid rookie could owe more in tax than he earned for that game. Many viewed it as unfair and possibly unconstitutional, and it was repealed by 2016 after pressure from players’ associations. The motivation for such a tax was clearly revenue – in Tennessee’s case, the money even went directly to sports facilities – but it crossed the line of equitable taxation.
In summary, the jock tax exists because states saw a chance to capitalize on lucrative incomes of traveling stars under the guise of tax fairness. It persists because no state wants to miss out (especially if their neighbors are taxing their home team’s players). Yet as we’ll see, there are limits to how far states can go in squeezing nonresident earners.
How Does the Jock Tax Work? (Calculation and Compliance)
From a nuts-and-bolts tax perspective, calculating the jock tax means determining what portion of your income is attributable to work in each state. The standard is the “duty days” method – counting all the days you performed team duties (games, practices, meetings, travel days) in a state versus your total working days in the year. Suppose an NFL player has 200 duty days in a season (including preseason, regular season, and required training camp). If they spend 2 days in Ohio for an away game, Ohio gets to tax 2/200 = 1% of their annual salary. A basketball player with 160 duty days who plays 1 day in Ohio would owe tax on ~0.6% of their salary to Ohio, and so on.
Most states follow this duty-day allocation formula because it reasonably associates the tax with actual work done in-state. When states have strayed from this, courts have intervened. A notable example was Cleveland’s “games-played” formula, which allocated income just by games rather than all work days. Under that method, if an NFL player had 1 game in Cleveland out of 20 games in a season, Cleveland taxed 5% of his salary (1/20). But those players didn’t spend 5% of their working time in Cleveland – they only spent maybe 2 days (which might be ~1% of their work days). The Ohio Supreme Court struck down Cleveland’s method as violating due process, because the city was taxing income for work done outside its borders. In one plaintiff’s case, Cleveland even taxed a player for a game he missed due to injury – he never set foot in Cleveland yet was billed tax as if he had. The court ruled that a state or city can only tax the portion of income truly earned in its jurisdiction, and Cleveland’s formula was overreaching.
Another scheme was in Pittsburgh, where the city imposed a special 3% “facility usage fee” on income of visiting athletes and entertainers using its venues, while local players paid only a 1% tax. This effectively triple-taxed nonresidents compared to residents. Courts in Pennsylvania struck that down as unconstitutional discrimination, and as of 2024 the issue was awaiting the state Supreme Court but looked unfavorable for the city. These cases underscore that jock taxes must be fairly apportioned and not punitive, or they won’t hold up in court.
For the athlete or performer, practical compliance with jock taxes is a complex affair. If you play in 15 different states, you might be filing 15 state tax returns come April. It’s not uncommon for an NFL player to file a dozen or more separate state returns in a year. Each state’s return will report the income earned there (as allocated by duty days) and calculate tax due at that state’s rate. Team payroll departments typically withhold state taxes for each game’s location to help athletes pay into the right jurisdictions, but ultimately the responsibility falls on the individual to file in each state where they owe money. This means hefty accounting bills – many tax preparers charge extra per state return – and a lot of record-keeping. High-earning pros usually hire experienced sports accountants to manage this, but lower-paid players and staff can feel the burden. Imagine being a young equipment manager making a modest salary and still having to deal with 10+ tax filings – possibly without the budget for professional help[38].
Home State Credits (Avoiding Double Taxation)
One saving grace is that most states offer a tax credit to their residents for taxes paid to other states. For example, say a player lives in Georgia but pays some California tax for a game in Los Angeles. Georgia will give a credit against the Georgia tax for that income, up to the amount of Georgia tax that would apply. This prevents double taxation of the same income. In practice, this means jock taxes often wash out for players who live in high-tax states – the tax paid to one state just reduces what they owe at home. The real extra cost hits players who live in states with no income tax (since there’s no home state tax to offset the away taxes). For those individuals, every road game in a taxing state is a net new tax cost. Even so, as studies have shown, the total jock tax bite is relatively minor compared to differences in base state tax rates. For instance, a player living in tax-free Florida might pay a few hundred thousand in various jock taxes over a year – nowhere near what they'd pay if they lived full-time in California or New York. In other words, the advantage of a no-tax home state is diminished but not erased by jock taxes.
Other Nuances and Strategies
Athletes and entertainers can plan within limits. One common strategy is to establish domicile in a no-tax state (like Florida, Texas, etc.) to avoid any home state tax and limit exposure. This often involves truly moving there and proving residency (days spent, driver’s license, voter registration, etc.) – not just for jock taxes but for overall tax savings. Another factor is how contracts are structured. A signing bonus that is not contingent on future performance is typically taxed only by the state of residence (since it’s earned upon signing). So, if a player signs while a resident of Florida, that bonus could escape state taxes entirely. Teams and agents are well aware of these rules and sometimes time signings or payments with state taxes in mind.
For touring entertainers, scheduling more shows in low-tax states or spacing out tours might slightly reduce tax headaches, but large tours inevitably hit major markets (often in high-tax states). These individuals often rely on tour accountants who allocate revenue per show per state and handle filings similarly to sports teams.
At the end of the day, diligent tracking and expert advice are a must. Athletes and entertainers need to log their travel days and income carefully. The advice is usually: pay quarterly estimates, don’t ignore those smaller state tax bills, and keep all your W-2s or 1099s from each state. Failure to pay jock taxes can result in penalties, interest, and even public relations issues if a state decides to come after a famous name.
Jock Tax Laws and Notable Court Cases
Over the years, a number of laws and legal battles have shaped the jock tax landscape. Here are some of the most notable:
“Michael Jordan’s Revenge” (Illinois, 1991): This Illinois law was a direct response to California taxing Michael Jordan’s Bulls after the 1991 Finals. It essentially said “If you tax our players, we’ll tax yours.” Illinois began taxing visiting players from any state that imposed a jock tax on Illinois athletes. This retaliatory approach set the tone for widespread adoption of jock taxes in the 1990s.
Tennessee’s “Privilege Tax” on Athletes: From 2009 to 2016, Tennessee (which has no broad income tax) imposed a unique \$2,500 per-game tax on NBA and NHL players visiting the state, up to \$7,500 per year. NFL players were oddly exempt. The tax proceeds helped fund local arenas. However, this law was heavily criticized – many players lost money playing in Tennessee after the tax – and it likely violated constitutional principles by taxing nonresidents more per game than residents. Under pressure from the leagues and a pending lawsuit, Tennessee repealed the tax (effective 2014 for NHL, and 2016 for NBA). A settlement even refunded some of the taxes collected in prior years.
Hillenmeyer v. Cleveland (Ohio Supreme Court, 2015): Hunter Hillenmeyer, an NFL linebacker for the Chicago Bears, challenged Cleveland’s method of taxing visiting NFL players. Cleveland used a “games played” formula that taxed a player for one game as a fraction of a 16-game season (so 1/16 of salary for one game). Hillenmeyer argued this overtaxed him because players also work outside game days. The Ohio Supreme Court unanimously agreed, ruling that Cleveland’s formula overstated the income earned in Cleveland and violated due process. The court said Cleveland should use the duty-days method instead (which would tax only about 1.25% of Hillenmeyer’s income for two days in Cleveland, vs 5% under the games method). This case set an important precedent that jock tax formulas must fairly reflect in-state activity.
Saturday v. Cleveland (Ohio Supreme Court, 2015): Decided alongside Hillenmeyer’s case, this involved Jeff Saturday, a former NFL player who was taxed by Cleveland for a game he didn’t even play (he was injured and stayed home). The court struck this down as well, noting the absurdity of taxing someone for income in a city they never visited. Together, the Cleveland cases forced cities to align their athlete tax calculations with reality.
Pittsburgh’s Sports Facility Usage Fee (2010s–ongoing): Pittsburgh instituted a 3% tax on income earned by nonresident athletes and entertainers at its major venues (PNC Park, Heinz Field, PPG Paints Arena), while residents paid a 1% tax for the same work. The NHL Players’ Association and others sued, and a Pennsylvania court struck down the 3% “jock tax” as unconstitutional in 2019, citing unequal treatment. The city appealed, and the case reached the Pennsylvania Supreme Court in 2024. As of the latest developments, the higher courts seemed skeptical that charging nonresidents triple was lawful. This case highlights that local governments can’t simply target out-of-towners with exorbitant rates without running afoul of uniformity and commerce clause rules. .
These legal battles show a common theme: states and cities have latitude to tax nonresident income, but there are constitutional guardrails. The tax must be fairly apportioned (only taxing what’s earned in-state) and non-discriminatory (can’t blatantly penalize nonresidents with higher rates or formulas). Athletes and entertainers have successfully challenged overly aggressive taxes using these principles.
Conclusion
The “jock tax” may sound like a niche tax problem for superstar jocks, but it actually represents a fascinating intersection of tax law, sports, and entertainment. It involves questions of fairness (should a visiting player pay for local services?), revenue (states vying for pieces of multi-million-dollar contracts), and complexity (multi-state tax compliance on steroids). From an accounting perspective, it’s a prime example of why high-earning individuals like athletes and performers need savvy tax planning.
For professional athletes and entertainers, understanding the jock tax means fewer surprises when tax season hits. It means knowing that a big payday in one state could send a slice of that paycheck to another state’s treasury. It also means appreciating why many players live in income tax-free states and why they hire teams of accountants to keep it all straight. If nothing else, the existence of jock taxes is a reminder that even as these stars travel far and wide to entertain us, they can’t escape one universal truth:
In this world nothing can be said to be certain, except death and taxes. And that includes taxes in every state where you earn a standing ovation or score the winning basket.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) about the Jock Tax
What is the jock tax in simple terms?
A: The jock tax is a slang term for income taxes that states (and some cities) charge to visiting athletes and entertainers on the money they earn in that state. In other words, if you work a game or concert in a state you don’t live in, that state can tax the portion of your income related to that event[49]. It’s not a special separate tax rate – it’s the normal nonresident income tax applied to people like pro athletes who perform there.
Which states have a jock tax?
Essentially, any U.S. state that has a state income tax and hosts major sports or entertainment events will levy a jock tax on nonresident earners. Currently, almost all states with pro teams do this, except states with no income tax (such as Florida, Texas, Nevada, Washington, and Tennessee). For example, California, New York, Illinois, and many others all tax visiting players/performers. Some cities (e.g. Cleveland, Pittsburgh, Detroit, Philadelphia, Kansas City) impose local income taxes on athletes and performers as well. If a state doesn’t tax income generally, it won’t have a jock tax.
Why is it called the “jock” tax? Does it only apply to athletes?
It got the nickname “jock tax” because it famously began by targeting pro athletes (“jocks”), and athletes are the most visible subjects. But the tax also applies to entertainers and other traveling professionals – for instance, touring musicians, actors on tour, and team staff all have to pay it. Even a highly paid CEO who works a few days in another state could technically fall under similar nonresident tax rules. The name stuck because athletes were the impetus and remain a primary group affected.
How did the jock tax start?
The modern jock tax lore traces back to the 1991 NBA Finals. After Michael Jordan’s Chicago Bulls won the championship in Los Angeles, California retaliated by taxing the Bulls players for income earned during those games. Illinois responded with “Michael Jordan’s Revenge,” taxing visiting players from California. This opened the floodgates – soon states across the country adopted similar measures in the 1990s. While taxes on nonresidents existed earlier, the 1991 incident popularized and proliferated the jock tax nationwide.
How is the jock tax calculated?
Typically, it’s calculated using the duty days method. States figure out what fraction of your working days (or game days) occurred in their state and apply that fraction to your annual income. For example, if you had 10 out of 200 work days in a state, about 5% of your income is taxable there. That amount is then taxed at the state’s normal income tax rates. Some states had tried other methods (like per-game formulas), but courts have ruled the income must be apportioned to days actually worked in-state. In practice, team accountants or tour managers track days in each state to do these calculations.
Do players and performers get double-taxed on the same income?
Not usually in the long run. Your home state typically gives a tax credit for taxes you pay to other states on the same income. So if you’re a resident of State A but paid tax to State B for an away game, State A will reduce your tax by that amount (up to its own rate). This way you’re not paying twice on that income. The exception is if your home state doesn’t tax income at all – in that case, you don’t owe anything at home, but you do pay the other states, which is effectively an extra tax out of pocket. Still, the overall impact of jock taxes is relatively small on your total income – they mostly shift tax from one state to another rather than create a whole new huge tax burden.
Are there strategies to reduce jock taxes?
Yes. One common strategy is choosing to live in a state with no income tax or a lower tax rate. For example, many athletes establish residency in Florida, Texas, or Nevada to avoid a high home-state tax and only pay taxes when they travel for games. While they still incur jock taxes on road games, not having a home state tax can save a lot on things like signing bonuses or endorsement income. Another strategy is contract timing and structure: a lump-sum signing bonus paid while you’re a resident of a no-tax state will avoid jock tax allocation (it gets taxed only by your home state, which might be no-tax). Ultimately, you can’t avoid jock taxes entirely if you perform in taxed states, but you can minimize exposure by where you live and work. And of course, good tax planning (hiring experienced accountants, filing estimates, tracking days) helps avoid overpaying or getting penalized.
Does the jock tax apply in other countries or only in the U.S.?
The term “jock tax” is specific to the U.S., but other countries do tax foreign athletes and performers under similar concepts. For instance, when American musicians tour Europe, each country may tax the concert income earned there (often handled via withholding at the venue). Canada taxes U.S. athletes on games played in Canada, and so on. There are tax treaty provisions and special arrangements for foreign athletes (like withholding at a flat rate). However, the aggressive multi-state patchwork we see in the U.S. is somewhat unique. Within the U.S., the jock tax is a well-known factor; internationally, it’s usually just part of cross-border taxation rules.
How do athletes and entertainers handle filing so many tax returns?
They usually hire professional help – accountants and tax lawyers who specialize in multi-state taxation for performers. Teams often provide some assistance (many pro teams coordinate with accounting firms to prepare players’ state returns). The individuals need to track their work days and income state-by-state, then file a nonresident tax return in each applicable state. It’s cumbersome: an MLB player might work in 20+ states, an NBA player around 15, an NFL player maybe 8-10 states in a season. Keeping it all straight is a job in itself. That’s why part of the “jock tax” conversation is about the compliance burden – it effectively forces people to spend extra time and money just to satisfy all those state laws. Still, with good record-keeping (travel schedules, game logs, pay stubs) and expert advisors, they manage it behind the scenes. The alternative – not filing and paying – would lead to audits and financial penalties, so they make sure to dot their i’s and cross their t’s in every state.