Can I deduct a new cell phone?

2 replies
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as an office supplies

TurboTax Online

AnnetteB6

Employee Tax Expert

No, a cell phone cannot be deducted as an office supply.

Cell phones are considered to be 'listed property' because it can be used for both business and personal purposes. It must be entered as an Asset for the business to be depreciated or written off in another manner. As you go through this section entering the details for the cost of the phone, you will need to enter what percentage of the use of the phone is for business purposes. TurboTax will show you the options available to you for claiming the cost of the phone.

Go to the Schedule C for your business and look for the section for Assets and Depreciation under the business expenses to get started.

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xmasbaby0

Level 15

Are you self-employed? If you are self-employed your business expenses go on your Schedule C.

-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 are preparing a return for 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

**Disclaimer: Every effort has been made to offer the most correct information possible. The poster disclaims any legal responsibility for the accuracy of the information that is contained in this post.**