Is CFA tax deductible?

I thought lifetime learning credit had to be from an accredited institution?
 
No, it’s not a tuition expense, because CFAI is not an accredited degree-granting institution.
You may be able to deduct it as a professionalization expense, provided that you are using it to develop skills required in your current job (as opposed to a new job). However, you can only start deducting if it is more than 2.5% of AGI.
 
There are numerous threads on this subject. The consensus was that you cannot deduct CFAI exam fees.
 
In Germany they are tax deductible.
But you already need to have over the lump sum of 920 € of tax-deductible expenses that anyone is entitled to for it to make any sense.
 
Chuckrox8 Wrote:
——————————————————-
> There are numerous threads on this subject. The
> consensus was that you cannot deduct CFAI exam
> fees.
Yep but a few deducted it anyway.
 
Question about tax deductibility – how many of you are actually able to itemize your deductions, and where it makes sense to itemize instead of taking the standard deduction? What some common things that you guys itemize, that most people might not think about? I’ve always taken the standard deduction, and even in times where I had racked up job search expenses and charitable donations, I didn’t exceed the standard deduction amount ($5,700 for singles)…
 
numi Wrote:
——————————————————-
> Question about tax deductibility – how many of
> you are actually able to itemize your deductions,
> and where it makes sense to itemize instead of
> taking the standard deduction? What some common
> things that you guys itemize, that most people
> might not think about? I’ve always taken the
> standard deduction, and even in times where I had
> racked up job search expenses and charitable
> donations, I didn’t exceed the standard deduction
> amount ($5,700 for singles)…
didn’t itemize until i bought a house. and/or give a chunk to charity.
also, the tax code is so f’d up. AMT, student loan deductions vs interest on house, etc…. unless you own your own business I suggest you are very aggressive with your taxes (I am deducting CFA) otherwise YOU will overpay. Likelihood of getting caught is very slim, and if you are caught just pay the fine.
I heard 80% overpay…..that’s probably conservative as the US gov doesn’t want that number out….
 
numi Wrote:
——————————————————-
> Question about tax deductibility – how many of
> you are actually able to itemize your deductions,
> and where it makes sense to itemize instead of
> taking the standard deduction? What some common
> things that you guys itemize, that most people
> might not think about? I’ve always taken the
> standard deduction, and even in times where I had
> racked up job search expenses and charitable
> donations, I didn’t exceed the standard deduction
> amount ($5,700 for singles)…
If you live in New York and make a decent wage, you’ll end up itemizing due to state/local taxes.
 
numi Wrote:
——————————————————-
> Question about tax deductibility – how many of
> you are actually able to itemize your deductions,
> and where it makes sense to itemize instead of
> taking the standard deduction? What some common
> things that you guys itemize, that most people
> might not think about? I’ve always taken the
> standard deduction, and even in times where I had
> racked up job search expenses and charitable
> donations, I didn’t exceed the standard deduction
> amount ($5,700 for singles)…
Charitable donations (cash and non cash)
Mortgage interest
Mortgage points paid
State income taxes paid
Possibly sales tax on large purchases (say a car)
Medical expenses (must be over 7.5% of AGI)
Miscellaneous expenses (job stuff subject to 2% AGI haircut
That is all I got off the top of my head.
 
numi Wrote:
——————————————————-
> Question about tax deductibility – how many of
> you are actually able to itemize your deductions,
> and where it makes sense to itemize instead of
> taking the standard deduction? What some common
> things that you guys itemize, that most people
> might not think about? I’ve always taken the
> standard deduction, and even in times where I had
> racked up job search expenses and charitable
> donations, I didn’t exceed the standard deduction
> amount ($5,700 for singles)…
Most people cannot itemize if they do not own a home.
Once you own a home, then donations, job related expenses, etc come into play.
 
QuantJock_MBA Wrote:
——————————————————-
>
> Most people cannot itemize if they do not own a
> home.
>
> Once you own a home, then donations, job related
> expenses, etc come into play.
Numerically this is true but you can still itemize. It just usually works out that you don’t beat the standard deduction without a home.
Those people that give away a lot of money (and don’t own a home) may still itemize.
 
Never hurts to itemize, it’s not like your deduction gets reduced. Can’t renters deduct the portion of their rent that is attributable to property taxes?
 
I think the property owners get to deduct the portion of rental income that goes to paying propery tax, not the renters. That would be double-counting deductions if renters could, which governments don’t like to do.
 
numi- in texas its hard unless you are a home owner since we have no state income tax. I know there is an option to deduct sales tax in lieu of income tax but you’d have to buy a lot of crap. In cali w/ a 11+% state income tax for 70k+ itemizing is a no brainer. I have always take the minimum but bought a home last year so this year I’m barely on the verge on the couple standard deduction and only because of our absurd property taxes.
 
akanska - thanks for your feedback. How hard is it to itemize in Texas, in your experience? You’re more familiar with this subject than I am, but I’ve sort of racked my brains for anything I could possibly deduct and I don’t think it will exceed the standard deduction. This also means I’ll end up $900 in taxes because I didn’t elect any withholdings last year. I’m wondering if there’s anything else I can do to reduce this tax obligation, given that I didn’t buy a home last year….thoughts?
 
its really hard. Just gotta pay the man- like my husband says… better to make money and pay than be broke and not pay. If you file a schedule (C?) for your consulting business you can deduct % of rent/ car/ computer etc. and still take min deduction. Just file an DBA for with the city (you can do it at the bank usually) and start reporting any income. You can have a loss for a while, thats expected when you are starting a business.
gotta run- catch me at sushi on mckinney if you need answers tonight lol!
 
^ Terrific suggestion. Hadn’t thought about all the consulting business deductions I could take.
 
Yes, I deducted all CFA expenses from my consulting business, if you have 1099 income, you can deduct from that (and it reduces the self-employment tax contribution too).
 
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