Everyone owes taxes to non-domiciliary states in which they work, often after working there a single day, though some states adopt reasonable thresholds, like allowing someone to spend up to 30 days in the state before having an income tax obligation. (Every state should adopt these traveler- and remote worker-friendly “mobile workforce” laws.) But athletes and other entertainers operate under different rules than the rest of us: even in states with a multi-day threshold, athletes are always taxed, and the calculations are typically based on what are called “duty days,” which is the number of days they spent in that state as a percentage of their season. These athlete-specific rules are often termed “jock taxes,” though they’re part of the individual income tax.
The table below estimates Hill’s tax liability this season on his $30 million-a-year contract if he played for every team, taking into account taxes paid for each team’s home and away games. We make a number of simplifying assumptions. Most importantly, we assume that each out-of-state away game involves three duty days in that state. Depending on how far a team has to travel and what their schedule looks like, the actual number of duty days will vary. Secondly, we focus entirely on the regular season: calculations change if a team makes it to the postseason, but such schedules are, of course, unknowable. We also disregard the preseason and any out-of-state training camps, though this is a trivial omission, as veteran players are only paid $1,600 a week during this time, truly a drop in the bucket in Hill’s $30 million annual salary.
Because of these and other simplifying assumptions, this table should not be relied upon for tax planning. If you are Tyreek Hill looking to force a trade in the offseason, please consult with your financial advisor or ask Drew Rosenhaus to recommend one.
With that said, let’s explore how much Hill would have paid in taxes this season if he had signed with each team. The value of credits for taxes paid for other states is shown broken out, but these credits are included in the calculation of the amount paid to the home state.