The good news: Many unreimbursed employee expenses can be deducted. The bad news: You'll have to clear three hurdles before you can claim them on IRS Form 2106 or 2106-EZ:
To claim most work-related expenses, you must itemize deductions.
You can deduct only the portion of your work-related expenses that exceeds the IRS floor: 2 percent of adjusted gross income.
If your 1040 says you must pay the alternative minimum tax (AMT), you cannot take work-related deductions. Created in the 1960s to ensure the wealthy pay their fair share, the AMT is increasingly hitting middle-class earners.