Can my wife deduct the cost of a teaching conference she attended over the summer? She was not reimbursed through her employer/school.

[xmasbaby0]

W-2 employees cannot deduct job-related expenses on a federal return.  Job-related expenses were eliminated as a federal deduction for W-2 employees by the tax laws that changed for 2018 and beyond.  Your state tax laws might be different in AL, AR, CA, HI, MN, NY or PA.

If you live in a state that lets you deduct job-related expenses, the information will flow from your federal return  to the state return, so enter it in Federal>Deductions and Credits>Employment Expenses>Job-Related Expenses

[MinhT1]

No if she's an employee. It's a job-related expense.

Up to tax year 2017, job-related expenses were deductible as an itemized deduction subject to the 2% of AGI floor.

Under the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, itemized deductions for job-related expenses subject to the 2% of AGI floor are suspended for expenses incurred after December 31, 2017 through 2025.

Therefore, this expense is no longer deductible for tax year 2024 on your Federal return.

Certain states (Alabama, Arkansas, California, Hawaii, Minnesota, New York and Pennsylvania) allow a deduction for unreimbursed employee business expenses. You enter your job-related expenses on your Federal return and they will flow through to your state return.