I'm trying to get an early start on my 2010 taxes, and I have a quick question. Are my PS state registration fees tax deductible? I pay these personally and are not paid by my employer. I've also paid for two comity PS exams in 2010. Can I write those off? And what about PDH fees? Does anyone know? Thanks a lot!
Tax Deductible Items? Yes, Maybe, Yes
Yes, you need your license to work, it is tax deductible.
If it was necessary to get the other state licenses at the request of your employer, yes. If it was for your benefit, then maybe no.
Yes, it is necessary to to get PDHs in order to remain licensed.
Since you are an employee, you do not have a Schedule C to list the expenses on. I have not deducted them from a 1040 in years, since I have do a Schedule C, but get the full instructions and it will expalin how.
If you had to drive to the PDH courses or comity exams that expense is deductible as well. You can also deduct any books and tools you purchased specific to your job.
Paul in PA
And taking tax advice from a surveyor is CRAZY!!
Talk to an accountant.
And taking tax advice from a surveyor is CRAZY!!
I don't think it's crazy. I'll ask my friend about removing a carburetor and he's no mechanic. Surveyors, as well as anyone, can know about finance and taxes too. Some people have multiple abilities.
Tax Deductible Items? Yes, Maybe, Yes
Thanks for the info.
And taking tax advice from a surveyor is CRAZY!!
What is crazy is that most have been programed that they can do nothing without being spoon fed by a professional of some sort, does not make any distinctions on the subject. Man is programed to teach himself once he has been given the minimum tools to start and to evaluate the advice he is given regardless of source. History has many examples of reaching high places with little or no formal education. Sad that so many have forgotten that and their dependency on the system has crippled them. Kind of provides one reason for using sign language on traffic signs today.
jud
A 1040 And All Parts Can Be Done By Anyone
I had an accountant for 1 year, 1989. Before that I always did my own 1040s. I began self employment in 1989. When tax time came around he told me he was too busy to do my taxes and I had to file for an extension. When I looked at all the work to do an extension, I just did my Schedule C and everything else myself and filed. Then I fired him.
I would cite the sections except that the IRS no longer sends out the forms and instructions. I am awaiting a few more 1099s and then I will gather up all the forms and instructions.
I am too busy to do that now until I complete a LOMA for an elevation certificate. Had to switch to some 2011 FEMA forms.
Paul in PA
The issue you will most likely run into is how to include these items in your tax return. If you are not itemizing, it may not really make any difference.
I have filed the 1040 long form for years now but as our home approached being paid for and all the deductions have gained the legal majority (whether they've left home or not) it is getting closer and closer to not being worth the effort to file the long form.
There may be place to list those things on the standard 1040 but not having filed that one in a while, I don't know.
And taking tax advice from a surveyor is CRAZY!!
Asking a taxpayer for tax advice is like asking a patient how to perform surgery.
In many cases, I would contend that it is worth at least consulting a professional. For instance I just started volunteering at a second local museum and was promptly told by the director that I could deduct my time and travel from my taxes. The first thing I did when I got home was to call my father who was a tax consultant and still active with doing complicated taxes. He told me that my time (especially at what used to be my "going rate") was NOT deductible. Personally, I would rather have the confirmation of a professional in many cases.
Along the same lines to me is the debate on this very board about non-professionals attempting to survey their own properties without a license and sometimes without the knowledge to do so......
Granted, people can certainly have a wide knowledge base, but there are often things that professionals are aware of that the layperson is not.
And taking tax advice from a surveyor is CRAZY!!
No, it's not like that at all. I'm not at an elementary school asking the kindergarten students. Sometimes doctors are a patients, too, to use your terminology. Plus, this is a very easy question.
I understand what you're saying; but I'm simply asking a yes or no question on this. I will investigate the details, I just wondered if it was worth my time to look into the matter. Furthermore, if we aren't supposed to ask business/finance questions, then why is there a forum for such? If we can only ask and respond to the act of surveying-related posts, why are we given the opportunity to post messages regarding legal matters of all things? This isn't "attorney connect." Yes, as surveyors we deal with the legal issues of boundaries, ownership, etc, but we aren't attorneys (the majority of us anyway). Should I take legal advice from someone who isn't a licensed attorney? Sure. We do it everyday when we ask each other, as surveyors, "does this easement apply," or "do I have the right to enter Mr. X's property?" We didn't write the laws but we're familiar with them because we deal with questions like this daily. And as American citizens, we are taxpayers. And because we are taxpayers we must file income tax returns, so there's a lot of us who have experience with this matter. Those are the people to whom this post is directed. And now I have my answer. Thanks to all.
And taking tax advice from a surveyor is CRAZY!!
Got this off a website so take it for what it's worth; not all that much:
Certain employee expenses, expenses of producing income, and a variety of other expenses are tax deductible as miscellaneous itemized tax deductions on Schedule A of Form 1040. Most miscellaneous itemized tax deductions are subject to the 2% limit, which means you can deduct the amount left after you subtract 2% of your adjusted gross income (AGI) from the total.
Some of the miscellaneous expenses which may be tax deductible on your tax return and are subject to the 2% floor are:
Professional and business association dues;
Employment-related educational expenses;
Costs of looking for a new job;
Job agency fees;
Professional books and magazines;
Union dues;
Unreimbursed employee travel, meal, and entertainment expenses usually claimed on Form 2106 or Form 2106EZ;
Appraisal fees related to casualty losses and charitable property donations;
Work clothes and uniforms;
Employee home office expenses;
Legal fees to collect taxable income, such as alimony;
Investment expenses, such as IRA custodial fees and fees paid to investment counselors;
Fees for renting a safe deposit box to store investment-related material; and
Tax advice and tax preparation fees.
Of course, the guy in charge of the IRS can't file his correctly all the time.
True John, but people should be compliant enough to make their determination about that, a blanket statement that a professional should be called for every occasion handicaps people from the obligation to learn enough to make an intelligent judgment, no matter what the subject. Maybe professionals should be banned from helping or working for anyone until that person has shown that they have gone to the effort to learn about the subject in question, that would go a long was in protecting the public from unscrupulous professionals by having acquired enough knowledge to ask the right questions and recognize the correct answers. Kind of like me asking an attorney about land law and quickly finding out that they may be very knowledgeable in contract and estate issues but only know enough about land law to be dangerous. That being an example of extremes because of how I make my living but it does provide a point of reference of what I am saying. People can't make good choices without knowledge and our society discourages anyone acquiring any knowledge by their own efforts, after all in the pursuit of the knowledge causes one to do some thinking for themselves and learning they are accountable for their choices, not good in a socialist country. People are more capable of learning and evaluating what was learned and some don't want them to learn that little fact of self education and thinking has led us to our modern way of life.
jud
> I'm trying to get an early start on my 2010 taxes, and I have a quick question. Are my PS state registration fees tax deductible? I pay these personally and are not paid by my employer. I've also paid for two comity PS exams in 2010. Can I write those off? And what about PDH fees? Does anyone know? Thanks a lot!
IMO,
Guessing an expense may be deductible and ACTUALLY filing a return assuming such has motivated me to pay an accountant to prepare my taxes for the last 24 or so years.
The last return I prepared myself was on an EZ form.
I make more money surveying than I ever could in the accounting business. Time is money and I'd rather be surveying than bean counting.
Of course, if you don't have any dependents, don't own anything - home, other real estate, investments, etc. and punch the clock working for someone else...WTH. Good luck.
FWIW, I'd expect my registration, exam fees, and CEUs to be "deductible".
I do agree on your points Jud, which is why I attempted to qualify my statements with "in many cases". I don't have to consult a lawyer to know that I should stop at a stop sign, there are certainly things we have learned and know. I was just attempting to get at the point that there are times when I would prefer to hear something from a professional than someone who has a more general knowledge about the subject.
I am glad the question has been answered with satisfaction.
It may have to equal a certain percentage of your total income.
At least that's my recollection.
DJJ
Oh, my gosh. Some of you think doing you own taxes is tougher than brain surgery. I've done it on my own since I left home in 1971. It is really very simple compared to many of the boundary surveys we work on. Some of you need to grow a pair and try doing them yourselves. There are plenty of online resources available to answer virtually any question you may have.
They will not shoot you at sunrise if you do something incorrectly. They make mistakes. They expect filers to make some mistakes as well. It's not a matter of life or death.
It takes my brother and sister-in-law literally weeks to do their own taxes on their own. They have numerous investments, and yes, it probably is as complicated as a boundary survey 😛
And since the AARP does taxes for free, I personally, would let them do it in less time than I can on my own....