Can I Deduct Trade Magazine Subscriptions?

Reading trade publications to stay informed in your industry is a legitimate business need, and for self-employed workers the cost is deductible. Subscriptions to industry-specific magazines, journals, newsletters, and online publications are deductible as business expenses when they are directly relevant to your work. A financial planner subscribing to a financial planning journal or a chef subscribing to a culinary magazine are clear examples. Employees who pay for their own professional subscriptions generally cannot deduct those costs under current law. General interest publications like news magazines or newspapers do not qualify even if you sometimes read them for business purposes.