What Type Things Can I Deduct From My Federal Taxes While Searching for a Job?
When you're out looking for a new job, expenses can add up. Expenses can include traveling around to job locations, preparing copies of your résumé and paying for child care. You can deduct many of these job search expenses on your taxes if you are looking for work in the same field you previously worked in. You cannot deduct any job search expenses when you are looking for your first job.
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Child-care Deductions
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If you have one or more children under the age of 13 and you pay for child-care services so you can look for a job, some of those child-care expenses can be deducted on your federal income tax return. The rules are complicated, but if you have a source of earned income for the year, you can take a credit of 20 to 35 percent of your allowed expense claims of up to $3,000 of job-search-related child-care expenses for one child and up to $6,000 in expenses for two or more children. The percentage amount you can claim depends upon your total earned income. The child-care provider cannot be a dependent on your tax return and cannot be a parent of your child. You'll need to provide the name, address and tax ID number of your child-care provider on your income taxes.
Travel Deductions
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If you travel to a new city or town to look for a job, you can deduct some of your travel expenses on your income tax return. The trip you take must be primarily for the purpose of finding work, and you must be seeking work in the same field in which you worked previously.
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Agency Fees
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If you pay an employment or outsourcing agency fees to help you find a new job, you can deduct those fees on your income tax return. The agency fees are deductible as long as you are seeking new employment in the same occupation you previously held and as long as there has not been a substantial gap in time from when you lost your previous employment to when you began seeking new employment.
Paperwork Deductions
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If you pay to have your résumé created and you pay fees to create copies and mail them out to prospective employees, the preparation and mailing expenses are tax deductible.
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References
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