How to Deduct Professional Association Dues From Taxes

If you are serious about being able to deduct professional association dues and fees from your taxes, you must be organized. The deduction is not only for business owners. Employees are able to benefit by taking the tax deduction. Here's how to go about deducting the fees and dues for joining work related professional associations from your taxes.

Instructions

Difficulty: Moderately Challenging

1. Itemize your deductions. The only way to be able to deduct dues associated with joining a work related professional association is to itemize your deductions on your taxes.
2. Document how the professional association is related to your line of work. It doesn't have to be a long-drawn out dissertation. Just a few notes in a file to explain how joining the professional association relates to your line of work. In the event you are a member of several associations, its best to keep track of the work related ones. Non-work related association documentation should be kept separately.
3. Keep receipts. Part of being successful at claiming a legitimate tax deduction is having copies of receipts to prove the expenditure. If you've misplaced your receipt, try to re-create it. Call your credit card company or go on line and view your credit card statement. Print a copy of the sales transaction and file it for future reference.
4. Organize your paperwork. Saving all of the receipts and documenting why you joined a professional association will not do you any good if the papers are not organized in a fashion where you can locate receipts and documents when you need them. In the event of an IRS audit, you want to be able to find the requested paperwork when needed.

Tips & Warnings

• Taking deductions increases your risk of being audited by the IRS. Be sure to keep meticulous records