Hi, I just had a quick question: I recently changed jobs and I had an attorney review my new contract prior to signing it. Is her fee deductible as a job search expense or in some other way? Thank you.

Yes, assuming you will be paid as an employee, the legal fees you paid would be deductible as a miscellaneous itemized deduction.

The problem is that your total miscellaneous itemized deductions are only deductible to the extent they exceed 2% of your income. So if you earn $100k during the year, the first $2k of these type deductions wouldn't save you any taxes.

PLus, if you are hit by the Alternative Minumum Tax, then your Miscellaneous Itemized Deductions won't end up saving you any taxes.

Zip Code: 01801

Thank you for answering my question. You stated that "assuming you will be paid as an employee, the legal fees you paid would be deductible". The position that I obtained was that of an independent contractor, not as an employee. How does that affect things?

That's a huge difference. In this case, I would suggest that you would deduct these legal fees directly against your independent contractor ncome on a Schedule C.

Zip Code: 01801