Restaurant Employee Write-offs

[chris18]

Hello,

I was the Beverage Director for a venue with a rotating cast of celebrity chefs. In order to land this job I had to showcase a beverage menu prior to being hired. To do this I had to purchase alcohol and ingredients. I was not reimbursed for these purchases.

During my employment I had to purchase equipment (bar tools/cooking tools) as well as ingredients (limes for juice and garnishes, spices, bitters etc.) for daily use. I was reimbursed out of the petty cash the employer had for some of these purchases. I have separated the receipts for purchases I was reimbursed for and for purchases I was not reimbursed for. 

Can I write off all of the purchases I made for the business? I am assuming these would qualify as out of pocket work expenses.  The purchases that were reimbursed were paid out from the company's petty cash.

This occurred in 2017

[Hal_Al]

It's not clear if you were a regular W-2 employee or a 1099-Misc (or cash_ contract employee).

As a W-2 employee, the expenses would have been deductible in 2017 (but not 2018 and later, the tax law changed).  You would have to file an amended 2017 tax return to claim that. But, For most people the real answer is: don't bother! You are allowed to deduct  job expenses, subtracting what you were reimbursed (do not subtract your reimbursement if it was included on your W-2 as taxable income). TurboTax completes form  2106, which  then carries to Misc itemized deductions on Schedule A. The problem with this is that you only get to deduct that portion of  your misc deductions that exceed 2% of your AGI. and then only if your total  itemized deductions exceed the standard deduction.  

(2% rule explained: https://ttlc.intuit.com/questions/2902781-what-is-the-2-rule)