Monday, February 8, 2016

From the MORE CL Discussion List: The Tax Man is Coming: What Are You Paying in Tax Deductable UFT Dues?

Ahhh, the current convoluted UFT dues structure as people try to calculate the exact amount for their tax deduction as discussed on the MORE chapter leader listserve. Let me get in my little piece first. Dues increases are automatic and not voted on by the DA which used to vote on it before Unity changed the constitution so people won't take note of dues increases. (I'll get to some of the substance of the MORE meeting discussion on Friedrichs on Saturday.)

From The MORE platform:
Create a sliding scale for union dues based on salary and require dues increases to be voted on at the Delegate’s Assembly.

Here are the comments on the listserve.

Thought people would be interested in this... from my Dist Rep:
I have received a number of requests for the dues total for 2015. Unfortunately, the amount for fiscal year 2015 is not the same for every member as it includes the retroactive payment/dues we all received/paid in October. In order to compile the exact amount of individual dues, each member will have to add up the amount deducted on each stub (actually, they should all be the same except for October). They can find their stubs in the Payroll Portal on the DOE website if they have direct deposit.
How annoying is this?!

You've got to be kidding. This is outrageous. With all their minions at 52 Broadway, they can't calculate this and send it to the members?
Abusive...

Is there a baseline dues rate that I can direct members to as a starting point, and then have them add on their individual retro dues?

There's an insert in this issue of NY teacher.
From p.38 NY Teacher (Unity rag)
Teachers: x 8 for each (24 pay periods)
1/15-4/15 $53.14
5/15-8/15 $54.17
9/15-12/15 $54.87
Why they don't give us a total? Maybe it would astonish members how much they pay (with after tax income) for what little service they may get.

So for teachers, it is $1297.44, Please send this info to your staff. You would be surprised how few teachers know dues are deductible. I don't think I knew until 2 years ago!

You also need to add your retro pay dues too.

Does anyone know the approximate amount from paras?
Paras
26.57 27.09 27.43
8 pay checks each
From p.38

Why UFT Dues for Your Tax Return is Complicated This Year-and for the Next Five Years
Very complicated!
Everybody has a different retro amount, from which dues were taken. Members have to add up the UFT deductions from their 24 2015 stubs to get their dues amount, remembering that the October contributions are higher. Again, the answer is different for everyone.

According to NY Teacher (page 38)
Teacher - $1,297.44
Guidance Counselors - $1,321.04
School Secretaries - $1,006.64
Paraprofessionals - $648.72
Psychologist - $1,339.44

You have to add what was taken out of retro check to get a grand total.



2 comments:

Unitymustgo! said...

If I’m following this, then a teacher as an example would have to find their pay stub with the higher arrears dues, then subtract $54.87 from it. The difference would be the extra dues paid that one time. So, $1297.44 + $30-40ish bucks.

Honestly I won’t make this effort. I’ll just add +$40 and be done with it. The Tax man is not going to know any difference.. So it will be $1337.44 for me.

Anonymous said...

Are union dues subject to minimum of 10% of AGI for them to count, as are other work related deductions? Also, sadly the amount of home owners vs standard deduction probably makes this a non issue for most.