A post in a previous thread has me wondering.

>>>>>Her equipment purchases would likely be fully depreciable in the first year, and her maintenance expenses, license renewals, etc. would also be deductible. (An employee gets those deductions only as an itemized deduction on Schedule A subject to the 2% of AGI exclusion.)>>>>

I have a full time job as a research professor. I also do a very small amount of consulting on the side. (Last year it was less than $5000.)

I have always claimed, or tried to claim expenses such as professional organization memberships and professional journals under sch. A but they never meet the cut off. Can I claim these as SE employment expenses.

The full time job and the consulting are in the same line of work and the memberships, journals etc. are used to maintain my skill levels for both.

Can I claim these as a business expense? Do I need to prorate these expenses?