The tax laws they are a-changing, but there's one teeny tiny silver lining: The ones passed by the current administration actually don’t go into effect until next year (i.e., they’ll impact the taxes you file in 2019, not 2018). Still, just so we’re crystal clear, we caught up with Priya Malani, founder of financial planning firm Stash Wealth, to find out the best ways to maximize your refund for 2017.
You Could Be Writing Off Your SoulCycle Class (Plus, 5 Other Tax Deductions You Can Take This Year)
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Published Jan 19, 2018
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You Can Write Off Any Moving Expenses
If you snagged a new job in 2017 and had to relocate to a new address as a result, your moving costs—everything from a rental truck to a storage unit—are deductible, as long as the move exceeds a certain number of miles. (Per the IRS, your new workplace has to be at least 50 miles farther from your old home than your old job location was.)
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Or The Cost Of Your Soulcycle Pass
If your doctor prescribes a specific fitness treatment for weight loss that’s directly related to your health—say, indoor cycling—it’s deductible. (Hey, $34 a class really starts to add up.)
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Magazine Or Netflix Subscriptions Totally Count
Pretty much any subscription service that directly relates to your job. For example, if you work in media, you might need to keep up with certain news programs or TV shows, making part of your cable bill deductible.
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So Does Working From Home
As long as you have a dedicated space that is exclusively used on a regular basis for business purposes, this deduction applies. Just be sure to skim the rules on this to be sure you qualify. (It’s highly auditable if you don’t.) If you do qualify, you’ll need to determine expenses that relate to home office use—insurance, utilities, repairs, depreciation, for example—all based on the square footage of the space.
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Don’t Forget About Clothing Donations
If you cleaned out your closet last year, you can deduct the fair market value of the clothes at the time of the deduction (aka not the price you paid when you first bought them, but how much you could sell the stuff for on eBay).
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Or Your Car Registration Fee
As long as you use the vehicle for work—even part-time—you can deduct a portion of the costs for gas, maintenance, even your registration fee. Not bad.
