Employed (receiving a W-2) but required to buy tools

[emjackson]

Greetings! My husband is an HVAC technician, and he is required to provide his own tools (power tools, manifold and micron gauge, etc). He is fully employed by a company, but these tools are not provided to do his job. Are these tools able to be deducted?

[rjs]

No. Under the tax reform law that was passed in 2017, there is no deduction for employee business expenses for 2018 through 2025.

[DavidD66]

No.  As a W-2 employee, there is currently no deduction for unreimbursed employee expenses.  That deduction was suspended by the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act for tax years 2018 - 2025.  Prior to 2018, an employee could deduct unreimbursed job expenses to the extent these expenses, along with certain other miscellaneous expenses, were more than 2% of their adjusted gross income. You had to itemize your deductions (as opposed to taking the standard deduction) to deduct these expenses.  Under current law, the deduction will return for tax year 2026.