Note: The following answer applies to tax years prior to 2018. For 2018 through 2025, employee business expenses claimed on Form 2106 are no longer deductible on the Federal return. Certain states do still allow a deduction for Form 2106, so it is still available in TurboTax.
Yes, you can claim Employee Business Expenses on Form 2106 for expenses required by your employer that are not reimbursed.
One important thing to know about Form 2106 is that you must also be using Schedule A and claiming itemized deductions (not the standard deduction) before it may affect the bottom line of your tax return. This means that you could enter all the necessary information into your return to claim the expense, but if you are using the standard deduction then your refund/balance due would not change.
Additionally, the total Employee Business Expenses and other miscellaneous itemized deductions must exceed 2% of your Adjusted Gross Income (AGI) before any portion will be deducted. Only the portion that is greater than 2% of AGI will be included on Schedule A.
To enter unreimbursed employee expenses that you have incurred as a W-2 employee, use the following steps:
- On the top row of the TurboTax online screen, click on Search (or for CD/downloaded TurboTax locate the search box in the upper right corner)
- This opens a box where you can type in “2106” (be sure to enter exactly as shown here) and click the magnifying glass (or for CD/downloaded TurboTax, click Find)
- The search results will give you an option to “Jump to 2106”
- Click on the blue “Jump to 2106” link
[edited 4/10/2020 | 11:26 am PST]
