No, dress clothes are not deductible as a job related expense. It isn't enough that you wear distinctive clothing.
The clothing must be specifically required by your
employer. Nor is it enough that you don't, in fact,
wear your work clothes away from work. The clothing
must not be suitable for taking the place of your regular
clothing.
Examples of workers who may be able to deduct the
cost and upkeep of work clothes are: delivery workers,
firefighters, health care workers, law enforcement officers,
letter carriers, professional athletes, and transportation
workers (air, rail, bus, etc.). See 2016 Publication 529 - IRS.gov .
You can deduct the cost and upkeep of
work clothes if the following two requirements are met:
- You must wear
them as a condition of your employment and
- The clothes
aren't suitable for everyday wear.
As an employee, you may be able to deduct certain unreimbursed expenses that the IRS considers "ordinary and necessary" to do your job. That would include things like:
- Union dues
- Tools
- Dues or subscriptions to professional societies
- Licenses
- Travel and meals for business, including DOT per diem
- Home office
- Excess educator expenses
- Education that either maintains or improves job skills or is required to keep your salary or job.
- However, employees can't deduct mileage or commuting costs between their home and main workplace.
Job-related expenses aren't fully deductible as they're subject to the 2% rule.
If you are a W-2 employee, you do not have to use the
self-employed version of TurboTax. You may use:
- TurboTax Online Deluxe, Premier and Self-Employed.
- TurboTax CD\Download Deluxe, Premier and Home & Business.
To enter your Unreimbursed
Job-related expenses like
mileage, in home office expenses, and meals:
1. Open
(continue) your return in TurboTax.
(To do this, sign in to TurboTax and click the orange Take me to my
return button.)
2. In the search box, search for 2106 and
then click the "Jump to" link in the search results.
3. At the Tell us about the occupation
you have expenses for screen, enter your occupation.
4. Click Continue and follow
the onscreen instructions.
If you land on the Job-Related Expenses Summary screen
instead, you can either Edit expenses for an existing job or
click Add Another Occupation to enter expenses for a new one.
Note: Unreimbursed job-related expenses (Form
2106), tax preparation fees, investment or advisory fees, and safe deposit
box rentals, are subject to the 2% rule. See What is the 2% rule?
Under the 2% rule, you're only allowed to deduct the portion of
miscellaneous expenses that exceeds
2% of your adjusted gross income (AGI). You must also itemize to
get this deduction.
Related Information:
