Financial Tips For Nurses - Income Tax Deductions

In these rough economic times where everyone's pinching pennies and trying to look for ways to save a couple of bucks when they can, filling income tax deductions can be a big help and add up to a significant amount that you can invest in your pension or savings. To fill out an income tax deduction, you need to dig out all your receipts so that you can make a list of all the possible deductions.

Tax laws

There are a lot of potential tax deductions that nurses can make, including depreciating properties. However, tax laws change a lot and what was allowed once may no longer be applicable so it is best to discuss your options with a tax advisor.

Uniforms and equipment

Some of the things you can consider including in your tax deductions are the cost of uniforms and their cleaning costs as these are expenses that are directly related to your job. Most medical facilities require nurses to wear discount urbane scrubs. Some facilities provide the nurses with their scrubs and periodically charge a cleaning or rental fee. This expense may be deductible. In addition to uniforms, you can also include any outright purchases for any special shoes and accessories that you are required to wear to work. However, if you are simply required to wear tennis shoes and you use these all the time outside work then they may not be eligible for tax deduction. Stethoscopes, clamps, and PDAs may also be considered as deductible.

License and training fees

Fees that you paid for license renewal or for continuing education may also be deductible; any training, seminar, or course that you have taken (and that you have paid for) to improve your job or advance your nursing career may also qualify for deductions. Books, medical journals, and other documents that contribute to your learning as a nurse may also be considered as deductible.

Travel expenses

You can also include travel expenses that are related to your job such as going to a nursing seminar but most often these are paid for by the medical facility or sponsoring company and does not come out of the nurse's pocket; it can only be deductible if you paid for it with your own money. Some meals may also qualify but there are a lot of restrictions regarding this and you will have to seek professional advice to sort this out. The IRS scrutinizes travel excursions to foreign clinics and hospitals so be wary of this if you have these kinds of deductions to apply. It can be difficult to put a distinction between personal vacation expenses and educational and business travel expenses but this can be done with a little help from a tax advisor. Often, expenses that are too lavish cannot be categorized as a business expense.

Moving expenses

If you have moving expenses related to a new job in another state or town, these can be considered deductions but they have to meet a certain criteria. For example, you had to pay for a new nursing license because your spouse was assigned a job in another state and you also had to pay for a trip to go to an interview about a new job before you moved to the state, then these may be deductible.