Can I claim my macbook on my tax return?

[MargaretL]

It depends why you bought it.

For education tax purposes - you can claim it but only if you're required to buy it for class, for example if you're enrolled in a online-only course. But if you bought a school computer out of convenience (in other words, you could complete the class without it), you cannot deduct it. Data entry is Federal Taxes>Deductions & Credits>Education>Expenses and Scholarships (Form 1098-T)

For work related tax purposes - you can claim it only if you were required to buy one by your employer and bought one for the convenience of your employer. Data entry is Federal Taxes>Deductions and Credits>Employment Expenses>Job Expenses for W-2 income.

For self-employment tax purposes - you can deduct it as a business expense if it is an ordinary expense in your trade.

[joshgeronimo]

Hi, I’m self employed and I’m thinking of buying a new laptop for work. So let’s say I owed $20,000 for the year will I be able to deduct $2,000 (MacBook Cost) off my tax? So I will only basically pay $18,000 instead of $20,000?

[AlanT222]

Unfortunately, that is not how it works.  If you are self-employed and you use the MacBook for the business, you must either depreciate depreciate the MacBook over time or elect a 179 Deduction.  Further, the expense would be a deduction from income not a 1 for 1 credit against the tax you owe.