are attorney fees tax deductible when fighting for you job?
Saturday, December 26th, 2009 at
7:56 pm
My employer tried to fire me, but Drugs Without Prescription I was able to defend myself and keep my job. This came at a large price because I had to hire an attorney. Are my legal fees tax deductible?
no
wow, you’ve got some stupid answers here. I’ll do my best to do better than that.
Yes, lawyer fees are deductible…however there is a big time limitation on them.
You need to itemize to get the deduction. And they are deductions that are limited tto 2 1/2% of you AGI. IT is impossible to tell you how much $$ is deductilbe for you without knowing all your numbers. Take all your info to a decent tax person and they will get the job done. Short answer, yes but you won’t see all your money back.
The legal fees are part of a category (includes tax preparation fees, investment fees, job hunting expenses, etc.) that are deductible to the extent they exceed 2% (not 2.5%) of your adjusted gross income. If you are hit by the alternative minimum tax (AMT), these expenses are not deductible.
I hope this helps.
Gary
Fighting for your job makes this an unreimbursed employee business expense. Deductible on schedule A as a previous poster has mentioned.
If you do not normally itemize, you won’t get the full benefit of this deduction. Unfortunately, it *can* trigger AMT, but your tax preparer will be able to tell you if that happens.
tro is guessing again, so ignore his answer.