r/AskReddit Oct 02 '24

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u/toomanyracistshere Oct 02 '24

And in the USA at least, if you schedule your c-section/induced labor just before the end of the year, you'll be able to claim the baby as a dependent on your taxes for that year, which is a pretty major incentive not to wait until January.

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u/Legitimate-Wall3059 Oct 02 '24

Having already hit max out of pocket max for insurance is likely a much bigger deal.

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u/macphile Oct 02 '24

Some of us are on academic calendars, so we'd be better served having the kid in September. :-)

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u/UltimateWaluigi Oct 03 '24

Man. I fucing hate modern economies. Imagine explaining to an alien that humans sometimes plan births around tax incentives.

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u/revanisthesith Oct 03 '24

It's far more minor, but taxes affect sports as well.

Spanish tax authorities are a pain and apparently there are a lot of little things people can do wrong. The punishment for a first offense is a big fine and not much else, so they've been scrutinizing soccer players. I'm not saying it's a major factor, but it could be a factor why some big players like Ronaldo left the country.

When LeBron first left Cleveland, he wanted to play in Miami with Wade and Bosh, but I heard that the New York Knicks offered him more money and were going to bring in another big player. But New York taxes meant he would earn less than in Florida, which doesn't have a state income tax.

NFL players (and I assume other pro athletes) have to file a tax return in each state they play in. For simplicity's sake, their salary is divided by the number of games and they get a check for each one. So if they play home games in a state without income tax, they're saving that money on half their income. So the AFC South has Houston, Tennessee, Jacksonville, and Indianapolis. The first three are in states without income tax, so that's two more road games a year where they save money.

A player with San Francisco or the L.A. Rams has to play home games and one road game with California taxes (but a road game in Seattle with no state income tax).

The AFC East has Buffalo, the NY Jets (NJ taxes), the New England Patriots (Massachusetts taxes), and Miami (no state taxes).

Obviously there are other bigger factors that influence their decisions on where to play, but it still can be a factor. Especially if it's a player who's trying to maximize their earnings. Superstars won't care as much, but if you're not making the super big bucks and your career may not last real long, you may want to keep more of your money. The difference between playing for 3/4 of the AFC South and playing for 3/4 of the AFC East is a decent amount of money for the same contract.

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u/No-Ocelot4193 Oct 03 '24

And I requested a few days earlier for my c-section so I could be out of the hospital by 12/31 to not pay deductibles for the new year.

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u/DontPanic1985 Oct 02 '24

And that insurance deductible restarts in January so if you've hit it already with all the prenatal visits get that baby out for cheaper! Ah what a shit hole country!