In Alabama, can I claim the job related expense such as moving fee, flight for interview, license application etc?

[VictoriaD75]

No. The Tax Cuts & Jobs Act eliminated the moving expense deduction. Beginning in 2018, moving expenses are only deductible in certain circumstances by military members.

Alabama is following the federal provisions in the TCJA that repeal the exclusion and deductions for qualified moving expense reimbursements and qualified transportation fringes inclusive of the employee commuting expense reimbursements through tax year 2025.

[damien-a-perry]

What about job expenses? Specifically tools, I’m an employed mechanic (w2)

[MayaD]

Job-related expenses for employees are no longer deductible on most people’s federal return in tax years 2018 through 2025 due to the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA) unless you work in one of these specific professions or situations:

• Armed Forces reservist
• Qualified performing artist
• Fee-basis state or local government official
• You're disabled and have impairment-related expenses

However, job-related expenses may be deductible in your state. Enter your expenses and we’ll figure out if you can deduct them.

Where do I enter job-related employee expenses?

[damien-a-perry]

the web based version will not allow me to enter the information, due to the law change. Also, I cannot directly access tax forms from the web based version. When I go to my state return, it tells me to enter the information through my federal return to determine if it is a qualifying expense. The crux of the question is whether or not job related expenses are deductible in Alabama and if they are, are they subject to the “2% floor” 

[KathrynG3]

With the assumption that Alabama has not changed their Schedule A instructions from 2019 to 2020, then yes, you can still take unreimbursed employee business expenses in Alabama and yes, it is subject to 2% of Alabama Adjusted Gross Income. 

To do this in TurboTax Online,

• Go through the state interview.
• At the Let's Check for any Alabama Deductions page, scroll down to Job Expenses and click start and report the applicable details.
• TurboTax will automatically report the information necessary on your Alabama return from what you entered.

The Alabama Department of Revenue typically grants access to all their forms and instructions including Instructions for Form 40. However, they have not yet posted the Form 40 tax booklet for 2020.

If you want to check if these instructions have been added, scroll to the bottom of Alabama Access to Tax Forms and select individual and 2020 from the dropdowns to check if it has been added.

When Form-40 Instructions for 2020 are added, for specifics about unreimbursed employee business expenses, follow these steps:

• Click on Instructions in the left column under Number to open the instructions.
• Open a search by holding Ctrl + F and type in Unreimbursed Employee Business Expense