How do I dertermine if I can deduct the fee for getting my medical license in 2016?

[achristensen3]

I know that the cost of "obtaining" a medical license is not deductable, but the fee to acutally get the license maybe deductible. I had a temporary license to practice medicine issued to me in 2014 (valid through 2016), then when I started moonlight I switched from the temporary one to a full one. Since the medical license I got in 2016 wasn't my first license I can deduct these fees, correct?

[chihchao-yang]

I have the seam question. Limited license to full license should not count as first license right? I know first one is not deductible, so in reality this one should.

[bwa · Accepted solution]

If what you paid for was an annual or periodic license, it would be deductible.  Costs to become a physician are not deductible.  Costs to periodically maintain that status are.

[andrew0071]

Where in TT do you input annual Physician Medical Board membership fee to deduct?

[AnnetteB6]

If you work as a sole proprietor, reporting your business income and expenses on Schedule C, then you can deduct the membership fee as a business expense.  Include it in the Legal and Professional Fees category.

If you are an employee receiving a W-2, then there is not a deduction allowed for employee business expenses on the Federal return.  This deduction was suspended for tax years 2018 through 2025 by the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA) passed in 2017.  You can include the expense on Form 2016 as part of your Federal return and it may be deducted as part of your state return if your state did not conform to the TCJA changes.

@andrew0071