Can I deduct the expense of an ipad that I use for research and teaching in my job as a professor?

[slvanderw]

Professor at a state university.

[xmasbaby0]

Sorry---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 are preparing a return for 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

[MinhT1]

If you are an employee of the University, then you cannot deduct the cost of the IPad as job-related expenses are no longer deductible.

If you are a contractor (receiving form 1099-NEC), then you can deduct it as a business expense.