Where to Deduct Tax Preparation Costs

Exactly where should really an person taxpayer deduct tax preparation costs? The clear answer might be on Schedule A of Type 1040 as a miscellaneous deduction. Are tax preparation fees deductible only on Schedule A for all taxpayers? Thankfully, the answer is no.

Deducting tax preparation charges on Schedule A will supply small or no advantage for most taxpayers since the total miscellaneous deductions should exceed two percent of the taxpayer’s adjusted gross revenue to supply any advantage. In income tax preparation , the taxpayer’s total itemized deductions have to typically exceed the typical deduction quantity to give any tax benefit.


The IRS ruled in Rev. Rul. 92-29 that taxpayers might deduct tax preparation fees connected to a business, a farm, or rental and royalty earnings on the schedules exactly where the taxpayer reports such income.

A taxpayer who is self-employed may well deduct the portion of the tax preparation costs connected to the small business, such as schedules such as depreciation schedules, on Schedule C of Type 1040 as a company expense. The tax preparation charges deducted on Schedule C save the taxpayer income tax and self-employment tax.

A taxpayer who is self-employed as a farmer would deduct the portion of the tax preparation fees connected to the farm on Schedule F of Kind 1040. The tax preparation fees deducted on Schedule F save the taxpayer earnings tax and self-employment tax.

A taxpayer who has rental and/or royalty income reported on Schedule E of Kind 1040 would deduct the portion of the tax preparation charges related to the rental and/or royalty income on Schedule E. The tax preparation costs deducted on Schedule E save the taxpayer earnings tax. Nevertheless, the tax preparation charges deducted on Schedule E do not save the taxpayer any self-employment tax mainly because the rental and/or royalty earnings reported on Schedule E is not topic to self-employment tax.

A taxpayer may not deduct all of the tax preparation charges on Schedules C, E, and F of Type 1040. The tax preparer need to give a statement to the taxpayer that indicates how considerably of the tax preparation charge was related to the taxpayer’s organization, farm, and/or rental and/or royalty earnings. The taxpayer may possibly deduct the remainder of the tax preparation charge only on Schedule A.

If the tax preparer does not supply the taxpayer with a detailed statement displaying how considerably of the tax preparation fee was for the taxpayer’s business enterprise, farm, and/or rental and/or royalty revenue, the taxpayer shoud ask the tax preparer for an itemized statement. If the tax preparer will not deliver an itemized statement, the taxpayer ought to use a reasonable allocation. In that case, the taxpayer should seriously consider utilizing a distinctive tax preparer subsequent year.

Right here is an instance. Assume that the taxpayer is self-employed and also owns rental true estate. The tax preparation charge for the taxpayer’s Form 1040 and related schedules for 2005 was $600. The tax preparer states that of the $600 total fee, $300 was related to the taxpayer’s business enterprise, $200 was associated to the rental actual estate, and the remainng $100 was connected to other parts of the taxpayer’s earnings tax return. The taxpayer paid the $600 in February 2006.

On the taxpayer’s revenue tax return for 2006, the taxpayer may well deduct the $600 tax preparation fee as follows: $300 on Schedule C, $200 on Schedule E, and $one hundred on Schedule A as a miscellaneous deduction.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *