Q. I purchased an instrument in 2013 for $16,000 that I currently use for work. Is this an expense I can deduct?
A. Simple answer: No.
2017 was the last year W-2 employees could deduct job expenses. The self employed can still deduct job expenses. For existing personal property converted to business use, you may only deduct depreciation. So, you may deprecate $16,000 or the value of the instrument, on the date of conversion, whichever is less. Then you must prorate the depreciation for business use. For example, instrument is worth $7000, 50% of your use is for self employed gigs. Your deprecation deduction, for 2020, is $7000 / 7years x 50% = $500.
