Employers disclose Union
Dues paid by employees in Box 14 on Form W-2.
You can deduct dues and
initiation fees you pay for union membership as unreimbursed employee expenses
on Line 21 of
Schedule A
(Form
1040) Itemized Deductions. It
is in your interest to enter the union dues in Box 14, if you wish to have them
included in your return for possible deduction on Schedule A.
There are two main types of tax deductions:
the standard deduction and itemized deductions.
You can claim one type of deduction on your tax return, but not both.
For example, if you
claim the standard deduction, you cannot itemize deductions – and vice versa
(if you itemize deductions, you cannot claim the standard deduction). You are
allowed to use whichever type of deduction results in the lowest tax.
As you work on your
income tax return in TurboTax, after you have entered your personal information
in the Personal Info section, and then your wages and other income details for
the tax year in the Federal Taxes section, TurboTax will ask you a series of
questions regarding possible deductions you may be able to claim on your
return. Based on the information which you enter for your deductions,
TurboTax will calculate for you whether it will be more beneficial for
you to claim the standard deduction, which varies according to
which filing status you claim, or to itemize your deductions.
Unless the total of
your itemized deductions claimed on Form 1040 Schedule A exceed your standard
deduction, it is more beneficial for you to claim the standard deduction.
Here are the standard
deduction amounts for the 2016 tax year:
Filing Status
Standard Deduction
Single
$6,300
Married Filing Jointly
$12,600
Married Filing
Separately $6,300
Head of Household
$9,300
Qualifying Widow(er)
$12,600
Please note that
there is an additional standard deduction for elderly or
blind taxpayers, which is $1,250 for tax year 2016. The additional standard
deduction amount increases to $1,550 if the individual is also unmarried and
not a qualifying widow(er).
TurboTax has several,
very informative guides regarding how to itemize your deductions:
Tax Deduction Wisdom -
Should You Itemize?
https://turbotax.intuit.com/tax-tools/tax-tips/Tax-Deductions-and-Credits/Tax-Deduction-Wisdom---Sho...
How to Maximize Your
Itemized Tax Deductions
https://turbotax.intuit.com/tax-tools/tax-tips/Tax-Deductions-and-Credits/How-to-Maximize-Your-Itemi...
Please also see
instructions for IRS Form 1040 Schedule A, Itemized Deductions:
https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/i1040sca.pdf
