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Bank Fees Tax Deduction

  Sanjiv Gupta CPA  Published 
Bank Fees Tax Deduction

Bank provides a lot of services to their members, it gives security to your deposited money and in many cases, you also get an opportunity to get some particular amount of interest due to various schemes. Banking fees are the charge that one pays to the bank for the various services provided by the bank.  In some cases, your monthly bank cost might be free. But in case of using any kind of demand draft or cashier orders, there is a possibility wherein you are required to pay a small percentage of money to the bank for the facility that you will get from the bank.

Most of these bank fees are annoying, but for some of them, there is also a scope of avoiding the fees. Some of the fees that are the most annoying and have the possibility of avoidance are listed below.  You can claim bank fees deduction on your tax return but it is better to avoid them altogether.

Fee for closing account early

There are many banks in the United States that charge a fee when you prematurely close your account. In order to be a beneficial transaction for the bank, they have set a minimum period of time for which you need to keep your account open. If you close the account before that, then the bank charges a hefty amount which is then deducted from your balance. The amount deducted varies from bank to bank. Most of the people pay this fee because they close their accounts without being aware of this fee. The simple way to avoid this fee is to keep your account open for the specified amount of time. There is no harm in that.

Maintenance fee

Most of the banks charge a maintenance fee in the United States. This fee is to provide flawless service for your account. This is again an annoying fee that you can avoid. The maintenance fee scheme differs from bank to bank, and so does the method to avoid them. Some banks charge this fee on a monthly basis while another charge on a yearly basis. The common way to avoid this fee is to keep a specified minimum balance at all times in your account. The specified minimum balance differs from bank to bank.

Minimum balance

Not only can you avoid maintenance fees with keeping a steady bank balance, but you can also avoid another typical annoying fee known as the minimum balance fee. This is not with all the banks. The rate and the minimum balance for this fee differ from bank to bank. Maintain the minimum balance that is required by the bank, and you do not have to pay this charge. Even if your balance goes down below the specified amount once in the whole period, then you will have to pay the fees.

Return fees

If you issue a check and it bounces if you do not have sufficient balance in your account, then you will have to pay a fee. The rate of this fee differs from bank to bank. This can again be avoided by having sufficient balance in your account. It is also interesting to note that most of the problem of paying unwanted fees is to have a predetermined balance in your bank account for a specified period of time. Try to do so if not in a state of emergency. In order to prosper in the competition, some banks have neglected this fee. You can also join these banks in order to get greater profits.

Foreign transaction charge

You are also charged a banking fee for foreign transactions. In case of foreign transactions, most of the time the currency needs to be converted with another currency and so the bank charges some amount for that. This transaction fee is rather high as a percentage, and should be avoided. For some banks in the United States, the fee is applicable even if the transaction is made in the same currency but between different countries. From some of the banks, you also get cards that can help you avoid these charges. These cards can be used for foreign transactions without paying an additional fee.

Fee for lost debit card

If you lose your debit card and want to quickly regain it then you have to pay a fee. If you ask for your debit card to be delivered in a short period of time then you have to pay an extra fee. Just like the fee for closing account prematurely this banking fee is paid because of ignorance. If you do not ask for your debit card to be delivered fast, and in the standard time, then you pay no extra fees.

Other fees

There are many more fees that can be imposed by the bank, and you also have ways to avoid it. While the US laws allow the banks to impose charges for their benefits, they also allow loopholes for the customers to go around them. Awareness and calculated spending are the two easiest ways to avoid these fees. Other fees include paper statement fees which can also be avoided by opting for e-statement. Another fee is returned mail fee which again can be taken care of.