conjrc48
Jun 2, 2010, 09:33 AM
What are my deductions can I claim uniforms, shoes, tranportation, food , lodging, away from home cell phone , medical bills , union dues , gas miledge , what's the amount per mile , 401k anyone please help
ebaines
Jun 2, 2010, 11:39 AM
See http://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/p529.pdf and http://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/p463.pdf for information on deductions. But in general, unreimbursed business expenses are deductible as miscellaneous deductions to the extent they exceed 2% of your adjusted gross income, and medical expenses to the extent they exceed 7.5% of AGI:
Uniforms - yes, but only if the uniform is required by your employer and is not suitable for everyday use.
Shoes - same answer.
Transportation expense - yes, for unreimbursed expenses while traveling away from home for your employer. This does not include commuting from home to your regular place of employment.
Food - same answer, if incurred while on a business trip and not reimbursed. You deduct either a standard daily food allowance ($39/day or $46/day, depending on when the travel occurred) or you deduct 50% of the actual cost. Details are in IRS Pub 463.
Lodging - yes, if reqiured for work and not reimbursed, but must be temporary lodging (the work assignment away from home is expected to last less than 1 year).
Away from home cell phone - same answer, if you are on a business trip. I'd go easy on this one - given that most cell phone plans include a certain amount of minutes it may be difficult to document specific expenses incured for business purposes versus personal.
Medical bills - only to the exytent that the amount paid exceed 7.5% of your adjusted gross income
Union dues - yes
Gas mileage - see above answer on transportation expense. The standard mileage rate is $0.55 per mile, which you can take in lieu of actual gas costs and other vehicle expenses (repairs, depreciation, etc).
401(k) - is typically deducted from pay as a pre-tax amount, so is automatically tax-defered. The amount you contribute to your 401(k) is not included in the "wages" reported on your W2, so there is nothing you need to deduct on your tax return.