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Totally reasonable (discuss.online)
submitted 5 months ago by to c/politicalmemes@lemmy.world
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[–] 17 points 5 months ago (3 children)

Legal deductions are extremely limited if you are an employee. You can't deduct your car, your rent, or the big screen TV you bought.

For employers, anything that didn't end up in the bank at the end of the year is a deduction.

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  • [–] -1 points 5 months ago (2 children)

    You definitely want to be operating some sort of home business on the side, even if you are employed. You don't get to count employment-related expenses, but you do get to count expenses attributable to that separate business.

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  • [–] 4 points 5 months ago (1 child)

    Also, not true. You can deduct any expense needed for work. Uniform, supplies, food if you're required to eat on the clock, car payments if you're a delivery driver, all deductible. You can deduct a haircut if your employer has a grooming policy.

    It's just not worth it for most people. You need to save receipts and be able to prove it was a job-related expense, and if you do something wrong, you could be charged with tax fraud.

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  • [–] 2 points 5 months ago

    Commuting to and from the job is an expense needed for work. You can claim that part of your non-reimbursed travel expenses to temporary work sites that exceed your normal commute, but you can't claim your normal commute.

    You cannot deduct your commuting expenses. Not gas. Not bus fare. Not parking.

    Uniform items are deductible only of you don't get a uniform allowance.

    If they give you a $50/yr boot allowance, you don't get to claim your $300 Red Wings. If you buy your own tools but your employer provides a (shitty, shared) set, you don't get to deduct your tools.

    But, this is all about W2 employment. In practice, the overwhelming majority of expenses you incur in the process of W2 employment are not actually deductible, because your employer is already taking the deduction.

    But, if you are running your own home business, your usual workplace is your home, and you can claim transportation expenses anywhere you need to go for that business. You can deduct the use of a part of your home. You can deduct part of your utilities, your wardrobe, your tools. Even if your home business is one of the 30% that are operated at a loss, you can deduct the expenses incurred while doing business, and offset a part of your W2 income.

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