Three Hurdles to Deduction
The good news: Many reimbursed 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.
If you've tripped on one of these hurdles, there may be a workaround. "A salesperson could speak to his employer and say, ‘Look, I'm laying out these expenses and not even getting a tax deduction,' " says Michael Mongelli, a CPA and tax principal with accounting firm Sax Macy Fromm. "The employee could ask the employer to make the expense reimbursable and adjust the sales commission if necessary." The business could then take the tax deduction and share the savings with the employee.