Tax Credit for Uniforms
Many employers require employees to wear specific clothing while working. Uniforms, suggested styles or colors, aprons or safety clothing must be worn or the employee may be told he can't work. Often, however, the employee must purchase the required clothing with his own money. The Internal Revenue Service allows tax deductions for some uniform clothing expenses.
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Schedule A
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Schedule A is filed with your 1040 income tax forms and sent to the IRS. Employees who have out-of-pocket expenses may be able to deduct the expenses from their taxes. These out-of-pocket expenses are listed and itemized on Schedule A. Uniforms that employees paid for but were not reimbursed for are sometimes eligible for this deduction.
2 Percent Limt
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You may claim the amount of out-of-pocket expenses, such as uniforms, that equal more than 2 percent of your adjusted gross income for 2010. The percent limit may change from year to year. To see if you may take a deduction, list all of your eligible out-of-pocket work expenses, such as uniform clothing, on Schedule A. Find your adjusted gross income on Form 1040, line 38. Subtract 2 percent of this number from the total of your out-of-pocket expenses. If the difference is a positive number, this is your deduction. If the difference is a negative number, you may not take a deduction.
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Work Clothing
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Not all work uniforms may be included on Schedule A. To be eligible, uniforms must be paid for by employees, and not reimbursed by the employer. The uniform must be required for work; in other words, you have to wear the uniform or you can't work. The uniform clothing must also not be suitable for wear outside of work. For example, a worker who must wear bright yellow coveralls and a yellow hard-hat may include the uniform clothing on Schedule A because he will not wear this clothing during his free time. A waiter who buys black pants and black professional clogs may not deduct the clothing. Even if he is required to purchase black pants and black shoes, these items of clothing are suitable for wear outside of work.
Records
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Keep receipts for any articles of work clothing that you purchase that may be eligible for the deduction. If you purchase uniform clothing from your employer, request a receipt for your records.
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