[For NY] Can I deduct unreimbursed business expenses for dependents?

[CharminRoll]

Let’s say I am a non-resident IT-203 filer for New York. I have children who I claim as dependents. They happen to be child actors and are members of SAG/AFTRA. They pay union dues. Can I deduct the union dues as un-reimbursed expenses on IT-196? What if their income is NOT included in the Federal income portion of the IT-203 because although they are dependents, they file separate Federal 1040’s due to having income beyond the federal earned & passive income threshold?

[Critter-3 · Accepted solution]

If the dependents earn income then they are the ones to deduct the expenses against that income on their returns  ... it is not deductible  on the parent's return. 

[CharminRoll]

So what I get is, because the dependents don’t have income in NY, their income will not be included in the parents’ IT-203 nor would they file their own returns in NY, the dependents’ deductions are a moot point.  

[rjs]

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@CharminRoll wrote:

So what I get is, because the dependents don’t have income in NY, their income will not be included in the parents’ IT-203 nor would they file their own returns in NY, the dependents’ deductions are a moot point.  

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That is correct.

In addition to filing their federal tax returns, your children must file a state tax return in the state that they live in, and a nonresident state tax return in any other state that they work in.