Is there a way to log mileage and expenses for the current tax year? I was laid off, and want to track job search expenses for the 2018 tax year.

[drunkonpork]

I *think* I read that I could log current tax deductions (mileage and expenses, etc.) in TurboTax on an ongoing basis while we were filing our 2017 taxes this year.  Now that I’ve gone back, I can’t seem to find how to do that.  

My goal is to track mileage and expenses for a job search in real time until I find a new position, rather than having to keep them in Evernote or on a spreadsheet until Jan 2019 when I file again.

I am not self-employed, so I don’t normally track small deductions like this on a daily or weekly basis. 

[DawnC0 · Accepted solution]

Job-search expenses are no longer deductible in tax years 2018 through 2025 due to the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA) that Congress signed into law on December 22, 2017.

In 2017 and prior tax years, expenses that were directly and exclusively related to your job search may have been partially deductible. The search must have been for a job in your current occupation and the expenses were subject to the 2% limitation, which means they could only be partially deducted, if at all.

Related Information:

• Which federal tax deductions have been suspended by tax reform?

Job-search expenses 

There are many free options available and you don't need a subscription to use the mileage tracker feature within the QuickBooks Self-Employed app.  Here are links to QBSE and an article listing some of the most popular ones available for free.  

QuickBooks SE Mileage Tracker   Although this (and most others) app is for self-employed persons, it will work for your purposes of tracking miles and expenses related to your job search.  See the article below for more options.  

Mileage tracking apps  These mostly refer to ride-sharing work, but they will work for your purposes as well.

[Edited to reflect tax law changes 03/26/20]