Courses taken and equipment purchased for a job would be examples of unreimbursed employee expenses. Per the IRS, unreimbursed employee expenses are considered Miscellaneous Deductions. These are recorded on Schedule A - Itemized Deductions (Form 1040 or Form 1040NR) AND are subject to the 2% of AGI limit (meaning the portion of the miscellaneous expenses that exceed 2% of your adjusted gross income will be allowed as deductions on Schedule A.)
In order for an unreimbursed employee expense to be deductible, it must meet all of the following criteria:
- paid and incurred during the tax year AND
- was used for carrying on the trade or business of being an employee AND
- was an ordinary and necessary expense
Per IRS Publication 529 (Miscellaneous Deductions) an expense is "ordinary if
it is common and accepted in your trade, business, or profession. An expense is
necessary if it is appropriate and helpful to your business. An expense doesn't
have to be required to be considered necessary."
In TurboTax, the Job Related Expense section (within the Employment Expenses) under the Deduction and Credits tab will walk you through questions to help you determine what expenditures are deductible and where to load them. In addition, TurboTax will determine if you are better off taking the standard deduction as opposed to itemizing deductions on Schedule A.
Here is a TurboTax article with more information about work related expenses. Employees
can Deduct Workplace Expenses
In addition, see IRS Publication 529 on Miscellaneous Deductions for more detailed information regarding Unreimbursed Employee Expenses through this IRS link: Publication
529 Miscellaneous Deductions
