Tax Relief For Nurses and Truck Drivers 

Whether you are experiencing financial prosperity or hard times with money, you must always take full advantage of tax deductions. A tax deduction is money that you subtract from your earned income each year, which will decrease the total amount of money you are taxed and the amount of taxes you ultimately owe.

Two professions where tax deductions have a huge impact are nursing and truck driving. While on the surface these two jobs don’t have much in common, when it comes to tax deductions for nurses and truck drivers, they are quite similar.

One commonality is that both nurses and truck drivers work long hours. Additionally, they regularly have extra expenses associated with their work. These extra expenses can usually be classified as tax deductions.

Tax Relief for Nurses

There are many tax deductions for nurses that can be written off annually to regain some of the money you spent on work-related costs during the year. However, there are key factors to your profession you’ll want to consider before filing.

Independent Contractor (1099) vs W-2 Employees

Before figuring out deductions, a major differentiator that must be made is whether you are classified as a 1099 vs W-2 nurse. As an example: for travel nurses, the tax rules will be different than those who receive a W-2 from their employer.

A large number of travel nurses can be classified as independent contractors. If you are a travel nurse, be sure to keep receipts of everything you pay for as you travel, such as mileage, rent, and meals.

Furthermore, if you work in home care health, as a contractor, or from home, you should try and see if you can get paid as a 1099 employee. This category will offer you the opportunity for more tax deductions.

Tax Assistance for Nursing Students

If you are a nursing student, there are other factors that will determine your available tax deductions. The filing status of nursing students is either as a dependent of their parents, or filing independently.

If you can, it’s best to remain dependent while you’re a student. The requirements are as follows: you must be 24 or younger, you must be a full-time student, and your parents must support you at least partly.

Don’t fret if you are not claimed as a dependent, as there are still various customary student deductions available to you.

List of Common Deductions Afforded to Nurses

There are two choices when it comes to federal tax deductions: standard deductions or itemized deductions. If you itemize your expenses, you can usually write off any expenses associated with your job. These write-offs fall into three categories: clothing, equipment, and licensing/education.

Are scrubs tax deductible? The short answer is yes! The clothing category includes healthcare uniforms, scrubs, scrub coats, and medical shoes. Also, any popular services needed to maintain the integrity of your job can be tax deductions. Examples might include dry cleaning, tax preparation fees, and uniform alterations.

Equipment that nurses can write off is far-reaching, and includes anything that is a necessity to your work which you had to purchase. These items might include stethoscopes, penlights, and scissors, to name a few.

Finally, licensing and education related to your nursing job can count for a tax deduction. These expenses could include continued education costs (such as fees related to conferences or seminars), subscriptions to industry-specific publications, and organization membership dues.

*Note that these three categories are not official, merely a means of organization for your convenience and understanding.

Tax Relief for Truck Drivers

Much like nurses, there are various work-related tax write-offs for truckers. 

W-2 vs Independent Contractors

In recent years, the IRS no longer permits W-2 drivers to write off mileage and travel on their tax returns. Although, if you are a truck driver who is classified as an independent contractor or 1099 employee, you can still claim business expenses.

As a 1099 truck driver, you must complete a Schedule C to report income and expenses. This will allow you a selection of tax deductions. Local truck drivers normally cannot deduct travel expenses.

Even if you are a W-2 employee, you can deduct travel expenses only if you meet certain qualifications. You must be traveling away from home for longer than a day, and you must have to sleep or rest to meet the demands of your work.

List of Common Deductions Afforded to Truck Drivers

To the IRS, a semi-truck is qualified as a non-personal-use vehicle. What this means is that you can only claim expenses for vehicles of this type.

You can deduct expenses related to your company truck, such as fuel, oil, repairs, tires, washing, insurance, and repairs or maintenance. It is in your best interest to keep all receipts, and to document as many of your deductible expenses as possible.

Other IRS deductions for truckers are mileage (only if you’re an independent contractor), daily meal allowances, hotel expenses, and union dues. You can also deduct other unreimbursed expenses, including logbooks, lumper fees, business-only cell phone use, and license fees.

Professional Help

Regardless of whether you are a nurse or a truck driver, your profession most likely has the opportunity for tax deductions. Missing out on such tax deductions for nurses and truck drivers may have resulted in your current back taxes. If this is the case, reach out to TaxRise; our tax professionals can place you in the most ideal tax relief program possible.

Contact TaxRise today and learn how easy it is to qualify for tax savings.