[CAUT] PTG dues

[Israel Stein]

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From: caut-request at ptg.org
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>Sent: Tuesday, January 08, 2008 6:32 AM
>To: College and University Technicians
>Subject: Re: [CAUT] PTG Dues

>I assume that most salaried technicians do some outside work.  The  
>IRS wants you to declare that income which would necessitate your  
>filing a schedule C.  As long as you're making an attempt to run this  
>side business profitably, that is, not claiming expenses in excess of  
>income year after year, then I don't see the problem.

>Carl D. Root, RPT

Carl,

You are absolutely right - if there is outside income. But, if you look at the message that I was responding to (below), it starts with the words "IF your only source of income is working for someone else, and you  are required by your employer to belong to a trade organization...". That makes it a schedule A deduction - "Employee Business Expenses" - subject to the 2% of AGI limitation. 

Like you, I have been doing my own taxes since I started working longer ago than I care to admit, and as long as all that needs to be dealt with is Schedule A, C and Form W-2 issues and perhaps small amounts of interest and investment income (like from savings accounts and mutual funds) - it isn't rocket science. The instructions are right there, and if you use a computer and some well designed financial software (I use Quicken Home & Business and Turbo Tax), keep your records up to date, properly set up your categories and don't try to push the envelope on your deductions - it's pretty straightforward and most the work is all done by the time tax-time rolls around. And if some people prefer to use accountants rather than bother with all that - I don't blame them, but I prefer to do it myself.  

And yet, I basically agree with David Porritt - I do find it rather ridiculous that we piano tuners get all bent out of shape when "civilians" dispense advice on pianos and attempt to tune or fix their own without developing the requisite skills  and yet blithely dispense tax advice without even bothering to check the instructions on the tax forms available to all. 

The only reason I posted on this subject is to prevent someone from making a bad mistake based on some of the incorrect - and in one case downright stupid - advice that has been posted here previously.

Israel Stein 


> At 11:00 AM 1/7/2008, caut-request at ptg.org wrote:
>> IF your only source of income is working for someone else, and you  
>> are required by your employer to belong to a trade organization,  
>> and/or your employer requires you to purchase your own tools to do  
>> your work, then they are deductible.
>> Willem (Wim) Blees, RPT
>> Piano Tuner/Technician
>> Honolulu, HI
>> Author of
>> The Business of Piano Tuning
>> available from Potter Press
>> www.pianotuning.com