Can i deduct union dues

Democrats have a majority in the House. In April , Sen. Bob Casey D-Pa. In , Republicans eliminated tax deductions for workers and instead gave massive tax cuts for large, profitable corporations. We are currently tracking 99 pieces of legislation dealing with public-sector employee union policy.

A necessary expense is one that is helpful and appropriate for your profession as an educator. While not a dollar for dollar deduction for your overall union dues, this deduction will offset your taxable income if you itemize your New York state income taxes. Learn more at nysaflcio. E-mail or Member ID. If this is the case the deduction is an adjustment to income and not an itemized deduction. A fee-based government official is one who is compensated in whole or in part on a fee basis, such as a justice of the peace charging fees for performing wedding ceremonies.

You are eligible to deduct your expenses on the Schedule C. These taxpayers are sole proprietors or statutory employees. If you are a sole proprietor or a statutory employee you may deduct on the Schedule C all of your ordinary and necessary trade and business expenses. Generally the business must qualify as having begun and being operated with the intent of making a profit.

The key consideration here will be whether or not the union dues are necessary. If, for instance, you are an independent contractor and the contract requires you to be a union member, then the expense would be ordinary and necessary. However, if your contract does not require you to be in a union, the expense might not be considered necessary if you are audited. So before taking the deduction you should evaluate your entire circumstances or contact a tax professional.

The law implemented a lower rate on U. Meanwhile, pass-through businesses—which do not pay corporate tax—received a special new tax deduction, overwhelmingly benefiting the wealthy owners of such entities.

High-income Americans received larger tax cuts, even as a share of their income, than middle- and lower-income Americans. The law also reduced or eliminated many individual tax benefits, such as the itemized deduction for unreimbursed employee expenses, which includes union dues.

Even before the major provisions of the TCJA went into effect in , the deduction of union dues was subject to limitations. In , tax law only allowed union dues to be deducted as an unreimbursed business expense. By contrast, the expenses that companies incur in setting worker pay—including negotiating with unions and even resisting unionization—have always been fully deductible.

Instead of balancing the playing field, then, the TCJA further tilted it against workers by eliminating the deduction for unreimbursed employee expenses, including union dues. Union wages are about 12 percent higher for unionized workers than their nonunionized counterparts.

Unions also motivate their members to participate in U. Together, these facts suggest not only that unions are an important check on corporate power but also that they play a critical role in addressing inequality and boosting the prosperity of the middle class.

Many factors have contributed to this erosion in union membership and power, including changes in the economy, such as the decline in U. The 60 million workers covered under these agreements are left without real access to the courts, as the agreements often prohibit them from bringing class and collective actions to resolve workplace disputes in judicial or arbitral forums.

Unions are essential to holding corporations accountable for inequitable treatment of workers and wage disparities between workers and CEOs. Allowing an above-the-line deduction—one that could be taken regardless of whether a worker chooses the standard deduction or itemized deductions—for union dues would increase tax fairness for workers.

The current tax treatment of union dues is not only fundamentally unfair but also inconsistent with basic income tax principles. A basic principle of income taxation is that taxpayers should be able to deduct the costs of earning their income.