When I add "Job Expenses for W-2 Income", it does not reduce my federal taxes. I have added way over the 2% AGI, show what am I missing?

[CathiM]

You also have to have enough Schedule A deductions to itemize instead of using the standard deduction.  See if you total Schedule A amount exceeds the standard deduction.

[ksaye]

so my itemized is almost 2x what standard would be.

[Anita01 · Accepted solution]

Are you receiving a refund or owe tax?  If a refund, you may already be receiving back your withheld tax, and increasing itemized deductions will not give you a greater refund.  If you owe, the tax you owe may stem from types of tax that cannot be reduced by itemized deductions, such as Self-employment tax or penalties of any type. 

Are you paying AMT?  These deductions are added back for the AMT calculation, so there would be no net change in your tax owed or refund amount.  You can see if you show AMT on line 45 of your 1040 by clicking Tools on the left, then choosing the Tax Summary.  Once the Tax Summary is up, you can choose to see your 1040 on the left again.

[ksaye]

I am owing a few thousand dollars and I am paying AMT.  

Am I to understand that if you pay AMT, I do not get Unreimbursed Job Expenses?

[Anita01]

You do get them as a deduction for regular tax, but the problem is that deduction amount is added back to your income for AMT, so you, in effect, get no net change in tax owed.  For every dollar decrease in regular tax, there will be a dollar increase in AMT.