ABIM tax deductible?
Started by joejabjab
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Work expenses are deductible over 2% of your adjusted work income. In other words, if you make $45,000/year the first 2%=$900. That means anything over $900 is deductible. If it's $1000 and you need a tax person to do the itemization save yourself the headache. On the other hand if you moonlighted and got 1099 and need to deduct expenses it would be 100% deductible from that 1099 income since that is part of your work as an independent contractor (1099). If you have other uncompensated work expenses besides ABIM like attending meetings, journal subscriptions, membership dues, equipment, etc. that will add up and it's worth the deduction if you're not on a faculty salary yet.
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It sounds like it would makes sense to itemize this year. I would list it as professional licensing exam. List other things like professional membership dues, professional journal subscriptions, uniform dry cleaning (unless work pays for your white coat laundry), professional equipment (stethoscope) etc. . Moving expenses are deductible if over 50 miles for the move but I think that is in a separate section than work expenses. http://www.irs.gov/taxtopics/tc455.html
You will probably save well over $100 with everything. It may be worth using TurboTax or asking an accountant how much for an itemized return with those types of expenses.
You will probably save well over $100 with everything. It may be worth using TurboTax or asking an accountant how much for an itemized return with those types of expenses.
From my experience the standard deduction always seems to trump itemized deductions, at least on a resident salary.
Agreed. Just tried to do this and std deduction was still better even after including step 3 + licensing + DEA + IM boards fee. You may get a better deal if you interviewed last year though.
Really, it all comes down to having a mortgage. If you have a mortgage, then it's almost always better to itemize. Then, it can be worth deducting ABIM, licensing fees, etc. However, work expenses like this are subject to the 2% floor -- the first 2% of your AGI is not deductible. Therefore, it's best to pay for all of this in a single tax year, if possible. So, for example, whether you pay for the ABIM exam in December or January might matter for taxes.
