DEDUCTIONS THAT ARE OFTEN OVERLOOKED ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ WORK RELATED DEDUCTIONS Deducting work expenses: ----------------------- a- You can deduct expenses incurred for, union dues, special work- related clothes (as uniforms) residence office expenses for an employee, continuing education costs not paid for by your employer professional dues, journals and costs incurred for job hunting. Job hunting expenses: -------------------- a- Job hunting expenses that are deductible include: fees paid to employment agencies and professional recruiters. Expenses incurred for typing, printing and mailing out resumes to prospective employers. Fees for career counseling for your present trade for improvement, are deductible. If you run advertisements for a new job in the same field, those costs are deductible. b- Various expenses for transportation such as: your car, a cab or a bus are deductible. So are out-of-town travel expenses such as: local transportation, 8O percent of your meals and lodging. c- You can deduct expenses for phone calls to possible employers, newspapers and business publications. d- You can even deduct business or professional travel expenses during a vacation if you can show the IRS that the main reason for your trip was for business. A safe way to go would be to keep good records indicating that more than half of the time, visiting was used for business. Keep all receipts of $25.OO or more. AND DON'T FORGET Company pension plans: --------------------- a- If you can roll lump-sum distribution from a company pension plan into an IRA within 6O days, no federal income taxes are due. But, if you miss the 6O day deadline, your IRA will be subject to income tax and a 1O% penalty fee. The same is true, for rolling one IRA plan, into another IRA. Make sure, that the amount that you roll over from your pension plan or your IRA account, is the exact same amount going into the new IRA plan. Inheritances: ------------ a- Anything inherited by a beneficiary, is not subject to federal income taxes. b- Any property that has increased in value when you inherited it, would be taxed on its "stepped-up" estate value, rather than its original cost, if you sell the property. MISCELLANEOUS DEDUCTIONS: ------------------------ a- Estate tax planning fees, tax return preparation fees. b- Expenses incurred in the production of investment income from investment council and other related matters. c- Auto expenses incurred while using your auto for your employer that is not covered by mileage or auto expense checks. d- Any state unemployment and disability taxes that were withheld. e- Any payroll withheld charitable contributions. f- A portion of health insurance paid by the self-employed. g- Costs for printing resumes, traveling for interviews and general moving expenses to a new area, for employment. h- Costs for charitable services such as: auto usage, parking and tolls. i- Income-producing property, travel expenses. j- Investment, financial and tax matter expenses such as: magazines books, newsletters and appropriate financial daily papers. k- Seminar expenses such as: registration fees, travel, lodging and up to 8O% for meal costs. ################################################################# All of these deductions in this chapter are considered to be of miscellaneous deductions and are allowed only to the extent that they exceed a total of two (2) percent of your adjusted gross income, when itemizing.