How to File a Form 2106 Employee Business Expenses
Form 2106 is an employee business expense form that you may file with your annual income taxes if you qualify for certain business deductions. Employee business expenses to be recorded on Form 2106 include meals, lodging and the use of your car for work purposes. Once you have completed Form 2106, file it with Form 1040 and send it to the IRS.
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Things You'll Need
- Adobe acrobat
- Printer with paper
- Form 2106 or 2106EZ and instructions
- Receipts and journal from business expenses
- Car repair records
- Notes about mileage on car
- Ballpoint pen
- Calculator
- Form 1040 including Schedule A
- Scanner
Instructions
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1
Download and print Form 2106 for employee business expenses along with a copy of the instructions. All tax forms are available in PDF format at the Internal Revenue Service's website (see Resources below). Make sure you have Adobe Acrobat installed on your computer in order to download the forms properly.
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Read the "General Instructions" about how to file Form 2106 before you begin to fill out the form. By reading the "Purpose of the Form" statement, you may find that you qualify for Form 2106EZ, a shorter form that deducts the same expenses using standard mileage charts.
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3
Gather together the materials you need to complete the business expenses form. This includes receipts and a log detailing the dates, purpose and dollar amounts for business expenses such as meals, mileage, hotel stays and business entertainment that you paid for and for which you have not been reimbursed by your employer. If you have used your car for work, have related repair and maintenance records available.
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4
Complete Part 1, Section 1 of Form 2106 with the aid of the line-by-line instructions and a calculator. This includes mileage from overnight travel and parking and toll expenses from non-overnight travel. The money you spend on meals and entertainment for work purposes can be deducted using a standard meal allowance listed on the instructions or you can itemize the actual meal expenses.Business
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Fill out Step 2 of Part 1 (line 7 of the form) if you were reimbursed for business expenses by your employer that are not listed on your W-2 form. If this does not apply to you, enter "0" in the boxes on line 7.
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Do the math on lines 8 to 10 in Step 3 to figure out what expenses you need to report on Schedule A that is filed with Form 1040. The instructions will tell you exactly which numbers to subtract, multiply and enter onto Schedule A.
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7
Determine the mileage, routine servicing and repairs you can deduct from your vehicle usage in Part 3. You will need to know the date your car was put into service for this section.
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Complete Section D about the depreciation of your vehicle only if you own the vehicle you use for business travel. If your company owns the car or truck you use for business travel, you do not have to fill out this section.
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Scan or make copies of Form 2106 before you file it with the rest of your taxes.
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Tips & Warnings
You may want to print out a couple of extra copies of Form 2106 in case you make mistakes filling it out the first time. Fill out the final version of the form that you intend to file with a blue or black ballpoint pen.
You cannot deduct the cost of commuting to and from work on Form 2106. The IRS will allow you to deduct "travel," which is defined as traveling to an area outside of the metropolitan area where you work and live.
