FAQs
This is a forum where especially newer members can ask questions freely. I'll try to answers as best I can. If you have better answers than mine, please email me. I will edit questions only to remove discriminating, offensive or antagonistic phraseology. I pledge to publish all questions no matter how sensitive they may appear. Names will be withheld unless they are offered as a resource to answering a given question.
Q How much of my Union Dues can I itemize on my Tax Return?
A Zero. None. Although Union Dues are permissible according to IRS Publication 529, they are subject to the 2% rule. They must exceed 2% of your Adjusted Gross Income (AGI). Since the most any of us pays is 1.5%, none of our contributions will qualify. Even if it were not so, Publication 529 lists Lobbying Expenses and Campaign Expenses as nondeductible. Therefore even if we succeeded in bringing our AGI down enough to make our dues deductible, we couldn't deduct that part of our dues that is paid for polical or lobbying expenses.
Editor note: This is one of those cute IRS exercises. You figure your total dues paid, multiply your AGI by 2% then SUBTRACT your dues paid from this amount. Anything left over, you can itemize. Of course the combined sum of all your itemizations must exceed your standard deduction or else it does you no good to use it.
Q During the convention one of the speakers said our council owed over three million dollars in loans to other union entities and the national organization. How did we get so far in debt?
A It had to do with hiring professionals to get us through the contract negotiations.
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