I work for the City of Saint Louis , Mo. I am a Mechanic, can I deduct the amount I spent on tools I need to do my job?

[anthonysarkis]

I am a mechanic for the City of St. Louis. Can I deduct the cost of the tools I purchased in 2016 that I need to do my job?

[DexterS · Accepted solution]

Yes, if you have to buy tools to do your job, that's an Unreimbursed Employee Business Expense.

This is part of  Miscellaneous Itemized Deductions that have to exceed 2% of your Adjusted Gross Income (AGI) in order to get a deduction.

You may not actually get a deduction if you don't have enough deductions to itemize.

In TurboTax Deluxe you enter Unreimbursed Employee Business Expense as follows:

• Federal Taxes >> Deductions & Credits >> Select >> I'll choose what I work on >> Scroll down to >> Employment Expenses
• Job-Related Expenses >> Select >> Start  (See Screen shot)
• Employment Expenses Related to a W-2 >> Did you have any of these expenses in 2016 for your W-2 income? >> Select >> Yes >> Select >> Continue

Complete the following screens to enter your tool expenses.