My wife is teaching 4 year olds right now... spends about 3,000 a year on stuff.. paper.. all the stuff kids use... books that's she buys.. laminating stuff for bulletin boards.. wall posters... all sorts o odds and ends some games and puzzles all geared for teaching the kids .do you think that about 2,500 would be questioned under job expenses and miscellaneous
Thank you... rihard

Do you have documents to backup the costs?
Claim all bonafide expenses. There are no magic numbers that IRS looks for.

This is an excerpt from a Forbes article on the subject:
"Teachers do get a limited tax break on their returns, but it's not momentous. The first $250 of deductions for expenses paid for books, supplies, computer or other equipment and supplementary materials used by eligible teachers is subtracted from their gross income. See Section 62(a)(2)(D) (http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/html/uscode26/usc_sec_26_00000062----000-.html). Any substantiated expenses after the first $250 that relate to a taxpayer's employment as a teacher can be deducted as unreimbursed employee expenses. See Section 62(a)(2)(D) (http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/html/uscode26/usc_sec_26_00000062----000-.html).

However, it's not enough for the supplies to simply be helpful to the students and appropriate for the classroom. They must also be directly related to the taxpayer's job as a teacher. They must even be a necessary expense of being a teacher. See Welch v. Helvering (http://scholar.google.com/scholar_case?case=7334265773541328249&hl=en&as_sdt=2&as_vis=1&oi=scholarr) and Wheatland v. Commissioner (http://scholar.google.com/scholar_case?case=3200011504343133564&hl=en&as_sdt=2&as_vis=1&oi=scholarr).
These are high standards and Ms. Farias couldn't meet them. Sure, she produced receipts for supplies totaling $9,361, but she couldn't prove much else other than that
How much did the IRS allow of her more than $9,000 in expenses? $581.59. Ouch.
Critically, there was no evidence the school actually required her to purchase the candy or the savings bond. These expenses were not necessary to her job. No matter how well intentioned they were, gifts to students are not deductible as business expenses. "
From: Teacher's Tax Trouble: No Tax Deductions For Supplies - Forbes (http://www.forbes.com/sites/robertwood/2011/10/27/teachers-tax-trouble-no-tax-deductions-for-supplies/)

(The title -like some newspaper headlines---in the link comes out misleading; The article itself doesn't say NO Deductions for Supplies)

You can deduct $250 as an adjustment to income.

The rest of the expenses are valid deductions, but it requires that you itemize your deductions.

Do you own a home on which you are paying a mortgage?

ATE: does this deduction apply to daycare/peschool teachers? I always thought it only applies to K-12 teachers.

TaxForAliens:

You are correct! It IS only for K through 12th grade, and NOT for pre-school. My mistake!