I have added job related expenses, but I didn't see a change to my return. How does it affect my return?

[AnthonyC]

Job-related expenses are reported as a miscellaneous expense using Form 2016.  However, as a W2 employee they are difficult to actual deduct from your taxes (and thus see any tax benefit).  This is because they are subject to a 2% floor.  Under the 2% rule, you're only allowed to deduct the portion of total miscellaneous expenses that exceeds 2% of your adjusted gross income (AGI).   

Example:  You have AGI of $50,000.  Thus, under the 2% rule you would only be able to deduct the amount of expenses that exceeds $1,000.  So, the first $1,000 would not be deductible.  

You must also be able to itemize your deductions to benefit from these expenses.  This means your total allowable itemized deductions (things like mortgage interest, property taxes, charitable, medical, and job related) must exceed the standard deduction ($6,300 if single or $12,600 if married filing joint) before you see any tax benefits from adding the itemized deductions.

https://ttlc.intuit.com/questions/2902781-what-is-the-2-rule

You can read more about deducting Employee Expenses here

https://ttlc.intuit.com/questions/2902800-where-do-i-enter-job-related-employee-expenses-form-2106

[johanajarama]

in my situation, I do exceed the 2 percent of the total income, but still don't see a benefit. I dont exactly understand th second part to your explanation- (You must also be able to itemize your deductions to benefit from these expenses.  This means your total allowable itemized deductions (things like mortgage interest, property taxes, charitable, medical, and job related) must exceed the standard deduction ($6,300 if single or $12,600 if married filing joint) before you see any tax benefits from adding the itemized deductions.)

[johanajarama]

I appreciate your help

[johanajarama]

if i am now understanding this correctly,the amount has to exceed the standard deduction before seeing any benefit, in my case head of household at 9300?

[AnthonyC]

The IRS allows everyone to take either the standard deduction (which is a set amount) or you can itemize your deductions and get a larger deduction if you have enough deductions.  Basically, the government assumes everyone has some deductions so instead of keeping track of them, you can use the standard deduction.  If you think that you have more deductions, then you can itemize them

In your case, you will need to have TOTAL itemized deductions greater than $9,300 before you see any tax benefit.  But, that doesn't mean just your job related expenses have to be more than that amount.  There are a lot of different itemized deductions you could have (gave partial list above).  So, if you had a mortgage interest that you paid $5,000 and made charitable contributions of $4,300, then if you added $2,000 in job related expenses you would start to see tax benefits.

[AnthonyC]

Also, remember that these are only deductions that reduce the income you pay tax on.  Its possible you could reach a point where between the deductions, exemptions, or credits you have (like child tax credit, education credit), your tax liability has already been reduced to 0.  When you reach this point, any further deductions aren't going to give you a bigger refund.