{"id":40527,"date":"2018-10-26T13:34:54","date_gmt":"2018-10-26T18:34:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.hrblock.com\/tax-center\/?post_type=newsroom&p=40527"},"modified":"2025-08-20T13:00:52","modified_gmt":"2025-08-20T18:00:52","slug":"mlb-playoff-taxes","status":"publish","type":"newsroom","link":"https:\/\/www.hrblock.com\/tax-center\/newsroom\/income\/other-income\/mlb-playoff-taxes\/","title":{"rendered":"Three true tax outcomes of baseball memorabilia"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"Home runs are up, and whatever that means for baseball, it also means more opportunities for fans to catch a ball and trigger different tax outcomes. But the good news is that just like the pitcher and hitter control baseball\u2019s true outcomes, taxpayers can control their taxes\u2019 true outcomes based on what they decide to do.<\/p>\n

Giving the ball back<\/h2>\n

Fans might give the ball back \u2013 or even throw home run balls from visiting teams back onto the field, maybe even hitting the offending player<\/a> on his way around the bases \u2013 if it has significance to the player or the history of the game. If the lucky fan gets something of value in return from the team, like tickets to next season\u2019s games or other memorabilia, they could face income taxes on the fair market value<\/a> of those goods.<\/p>\n

But if the ball has a lot of value, over the gift tax exclusion of $15,000, could it trigger the gift tax<\/a>, which the giver \u2013 in this case, the fan who caught the ball \u2013 would have to pay? No, because in this case the IRS says<\/a> it is more like returning unsolicited merchandise than giving a gift.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe fan won\u2019t be penalized for giving the home run ball back to the team,\u201d said Jackie Perlman, principal tax research analyst at The Tax Institute at H&R Block.<\/p>\n

Selling the ball<\/h2>\n

Even a true fan might decide to sell the ball, especially if it makes them a lot of money. They will have to pay taxes on that as a long-term or short-term capital gain<\/a>, depending on how long they wait to sell it. In addition to having lower tax rates in general than income tax rates, capital gains can also be offset by expenses, or basis in the property. However, since the fan did not pay anything for the ball, their basis is probably zero.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou would probably have a zero basis. However, if you sell the ball at auction, you can reduce your gain by the amount of commission paid to the auction house,\u201d said Perlman.<\/p>\n

Holding onto the ball<\/h2>\n

Anyone who holds onto something like a home run ball from an MLB playoff game won\u2019t owe taxes as long as they hold onto the ball. But they won\u2019t live forever, and the estate tax could come into play when they die and transfer the ball to someone else.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou may have escaped the income and capital gains taxes<\/a> by holding onto the ball, and it\u2019s probably likely that you\u2019ll escape the estate tax when you die, too, because it doesn\u2019t kick in until your estate is worth more than $5 million,\u201d said Perlman.<\/p>\n

Controlling taxes\u2019 true outcomes is not just about getting lucky at a playoff game and coming home with something valuable. Controlling taxes\u2019 true outcomes is how a baseball fan might think about tax planning.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt might not seem like it, because your income is your income and the tax code is the tax code, but there are outcomes under your control in tax, like your taxable income,\u201d said Perlman. \u201cThe trick is knowing what changes to make to get the outcome you want. It could mean being strategic with the timing of your charitable giving and property tax payments, or increasing your retirement savings to get a tax benefit.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Home runs are up, and whatever that means for baseball, it also means more opportunities for fans to catch a ball and trigger different tax outcomes. But the good news is that just like the pitcher and hitter control baseball\u2019s true outcomes, taxpayers can control their taxes\u2019 true outcomes based on what they decide to […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":418,"featured_media":40528,"menu_order":0,"template":"","tags":[],"news-categories":[23360,23361],"class_list":["post-40527","newsroom","type-newsroom","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","news-categories-income","news-categories-other-income"],"acf":{"post_rest_thumbnail_alt_id":""},"yoast_head":"Tax implications of catching a foul ball | H&R Block Newsroom<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Find out what the tax implications of catching a foul ball are. 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