A question I get a lot at income tax time is, “Can I deduct investment management fees?” While this should be a straight forward answer…we are talking about the tax code where nothing is simple. As a law professor of mine once said, never put logic and income taxes in the same sentence. Your tax preparer is the best person to consult with on this issue – but in the meantime, here are some guidelines:
The first place to start when trying to determine if an investment management fee is deductible or not is to determine the type of account (Taxable, Traditional IRA, Roth IRA, 401k, etc.).
Investment management fees paid in taxable accounts (such as single, joint or living trust accounts) are a tax deductible expense and reported as a miscellaneous itemized deduction on Schedule A of Form 1040. That’s the easy part – but not the whole story. There is more to the story because not everyone can actually benefit from miscellaneous itemized deductions. In order to benefit from your miscellaneous itemized deductions, in aggregate they must exceed 2% of your Adjusted Gross Income. As an example, if you have Adjusted Gross Income of $75,000, then the first $1,500 of miscellaneous itemized deductions are not deductible – only the balance can be deducted. To further confuse the issue, if you are subject to the Alternative Minimum Tax some or all of these deductions could be disallowed as a tax preference.
For accounts such as Traditional IRA’s, ROTH IRA’s, and 401k’s, my interpretation of the tax code is that investment management fees paid by assets in the account are not deductible nor are they considered taxable income. In summary: not deductible (but you don’t pay income on the fee either). That said, some will argue that the fee is deductible, just as it is for taxable accounts discussed above. Lastly, some tax professionals will suggest that the fee is deductible if paid with money outside of the IRA. For example, some tax professionals will suggest that fees attributed to IRA type funds be paid via a separate check making them deductible.
As you can see, there are some gray areas on this topic. What can you do?
- Be sure to share the fact that you paid investment management fees with your tax preparer
- Break the fees out by account type (taxable versus other types)
The information has been obtained from sources considered to be reliable, but we do not guarantee that the foregoing material is accurate or complete. Any opinions are those of Center for Financial Planning, Inc., and not necessarily those of RJFS or Raymond James. Please note, changes in tax laws or regulations may occur at any time and could substantially impact your situation. While we are familiar with the tax provisions of the issues presented herein, as Financial Advisors of RJFS we are not qualified to render advice on tax or legal matters.
