Are you ready for tax season?
On January 30 taxpayers can begin filing their 2012 federal returns. This starts the mad scramble to gather all the necessary income and expense documents from the past year.
One of the most common questions we get from attorneys is, “Are CLE courses tax deductible?”
Thankfully, one of our outstanding faculty, attorney Stephen E. Diamond, wrote about this very topic for us. We’ve linked to his article below for your convenience.
Deducting CLE Expenses on Your Taxes
The ability and method to deduct the cost of Continuing Legal Education on an attorney’s tax return depends upon the nature of their employment. To be deductible the expense must be an “ordinary” and “necessary” business expense. In most states attorneys are required to attend continuing legal education courses and most professional liability companies require or expect attorney to attend continuing legal education classes and therefore the expense is ordinary and necessary, satisfying the first criteria. The expenses should be deducted for cash basis taxpayers in the year that it is paid. Most, if not all, attorneys will qualify as a cash basis taxpayer. Read more…
Photo credit: 401(K) 2013
