It is confusing Janice but it's the IRS terminology even though it seems backwards. Club expenses related to investing are called by the IRS, "Portfolio Expenses". In the past "Portfolio Expenses" were part of the "Miscellaneous Expenses" category on your personal tax form. You could deduct them but only if the total amount you reported in that category exceeded 2% of your Adjusted Gross Income. When the tax laws were changed in 2018, this category was eliminated. So, on your personal Federal tax return, no amount of them is deductible. The IRS instructions say to report them as we have with the name "Deductions-Portfolio". Of course, that makes it seem as if they are deductible, but they are not for Investment club members on their personal Federal taxes. As Ira, said, you may be able to deduct them on state tax forms. It depends on your state. They might also be deductible for other types of partnerships that have members who are not individuals which is why they are reported at all. This is explained in the instructions for form 1065 on page 38 at the bottom of Column 1 and the top of column 2. https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/i1065.pdf
Hope that helps. As usual, the IRS does not make things simple or clear or even intuitively logical when it comes to tax reporting. We're just following their instructions. Sorry to you and all those who are finding it confusing. It is. |