Super Bowl Jock Tax Calculator

Try it out or put it on your blog or site

Players on today’s winning team will earn $188,000 each for their Super Bowl appearance, while those on the losing team will earn $113,000. California, however, will apply its high-rate income taxes, with a top marginal rate of 13.3%, to a prorated share of all base pay and contingent bonus compensation players have earned over the season, based on the number of duty days spent in the state. (Signing bonuses are typically sourced exclusively to one’s home state.)

Assuming ten duty days in California, which is typical for the Super Bowl, Seahawks quarterback Sam Darnold will owe an estimated $192,189 for playing today—more than the $113,000 he’ll make if his team loses, and even slightly more than the $188,000 he gets if he wins.

Jock taxes are just a special instance of nonresident income taxation. Many states, including California, require nonresidents to remit tax even if they only spend one day in the state.

I’ve created an embeddable calculator that allows you to select any player, set certain parameters (including adjusting the number of duty days), and see how much they’ll owe to California for playing in the Super Bowl. Click here or on the image below to go to the calculator, where you can use the “Embed” link to put this on your own site if you wish.

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