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Abstract: 

The 2017 tax reform legislation eliminated taxpayers’ ability to take miscellaneous itemized deductions from adjusted gross income. The miscellaneous category of itemized deductions encompasses many expenses and losses, including investment expenses. Cancelling these deductions may not amount to a lot of tax dollars overall, but the change will affect taxpayers in ways that might not have been initially anticipated. Two examples of those affected, as this article explains, are taxpayers involved in an activity that represents a hobby for tax purposes and fiduciaries who incur expenses for investment advice; these taxpayers will lose miscellaneous itemized deductions under the new law.

Keywords: miscellaneous itemized deductions, hobby, trust, adjusted gross income, investment advisory fee

Affiliations:  1: Wichita State University.