You can enter business expenses on a Schedule C for your self-employment income. You CANNOT enter "job-related" expenses for a W-2 job---so yes, in that sense, you are "out of luck" for that. Job-related expenses have not been deductible on a federal return for W-2 employment since 2017.
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
https://ttlc.intuit.com/questions/4482873-which-federal-tax-deductions-have-been-suspended-by-tax-re...
ALL of your income, including the W-2 income and the self-employment income, goes on the SAME Form 1040. Your W-2 should show the federal and state tax withheld, and the Social Security and Medicare that was withheld. For your self-employment income, you will be paying self-employment tax for Social Security and Medicare, as well as ordinary income tax.
If you use online TurboTax, you will need Premium. If you use the CD/download, you can use any version of the software. All versions of desktop software can handle W-2 income combined with self-employment income, and can prepare the Schedule C that you will need.
**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.**
