{"id":245,"date":"2015-03-16T14:29:30","date_gmt":"2015-03-16T18:29:30","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.etax.com\/?p=245"},"modified":"2015-03-16T14:33:04","modified_gmt":"2015-03-16T18:33:04","slug":"what-qualifies-as-an-employee-business-expense","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.etax.com\/blog\/2015\/03\/16\/what-qualifies-as-an-employee-business-expense\/","title":{"rendered":"What Qualifies as an Employee Business Expense?"},"content":{"rendered":"

Using your personal car for business reasons can lead to a deduction<\/a> come tax time. You may qualify to deduct the actual operating expenses or you can opt to take the standard mileage rate of deduction. Remember though, you can\u2019t deduct expenses you incur while commuting back and forth to work.<\/p>\n

You may also be able to deduct travel expenses, if your work has taken you out-of town and you haven\u2019t been reimbursed by your employer. Additionally, employee business expense deductions allow you to deduct 50% of a meal when conducted for business purposes. You will need receipts and proof of business purpose. If you\u2019ve attended a conference, you can deduct lodging and meal expenses that are not covered by your employer. For conferences in town, your mileage to and from the conference location may qualify for a deduction.<\/p>\n

Employees who are required to purchase a uniform, and if the uniform is not suitable to be work outside of work, may be able to deduct the cost of acquiring and maintaining the outfit.<\/p>\n

Extra or additional training in your career may also qualify for a deduction if you\u2019ve been responsible for paying any associated expenses. Any courses you\u2019ve paid for that help you improve or maintain your abilities in your line of work, as well as mileage to and from the training center (one way) are deductible.<\/p>\n

If you\u2019ve needed some specialized reading in order to do your job, you may be able to deduct some of the costs related to the purchase of book, journals, or magazine that are relevant to your line of work. Similarly, job search fees may be deducted provided they are for the same field if you are looking for a new employer. Job search fees include preparation of resume and agency fees, as well as mileage to and from interviews, even those out of town, as long as you directly paid for them.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Using your personal car for business reasons can lead to a deduction come tax time. You may qualify to deduct the actual operating expenses or you can opt to take the standard mileage rate of deduction. Remember though, you can\u2019t deduct expenses you incur while commuting back and forth to work. You may also be […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[123],"tags":[293,103,14,292,290,291],"class_list":["post-245","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-deductions-2","tag-business-purpose","tag-deduction","tag-deductions","tag-meal-expenses","tag-standard-mileage-rate","tag-travel-expenses"],"yoast_head":"\nWhat Qualifies as an Employee Business Expense? - eTax.com\u00ae Blog<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.etax.com\/blog\/2015\/03\/16\/what-qualifies-as-an-employee-business-expense\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"What Qualifies as an Employee Business Expense? - eTax.com\u00ae Blog\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Using your personal car for business reasons can lead to a deduction come tax time. You may qualify to deduct the actual operating expenses or you can opt to take the standard mileage rate of deduction. Remember though, you can\u2019t deduct expenses you incur while commuting back and forth to work. You may also be […]\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.etax.com\/blog\/2015\/03\/16\/what-qualifies-as-an-employee-business-expense\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"eTax.com\u00ae Blog\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/eTaxcom-135749976483724\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2015-03-16T18:29:30+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2015-03-16T18:33:04+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.etax.com\\\/blog\\\/2015\\\/03\\\/16\\\/what-qualifies-as-an-employee-business-expense\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.etax.com\\\/blog\\\/2015\\\/03\\\/16\\\/what-qualifies-as-an-employee-business-expense\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"admin\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.etax.com\\\/blog\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/ddb9378caffbf2f32f89a84d213b3ef4\"},\"headline\":\"What Qualifies as an Employee Business Expense?\",\"datePublished\":\"2015-03-16T18:29:30+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2015-03-16T18:33:04+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.etax.com\\\/blog\\\/2015\\\/03\\\/16\\\/what-qualifies-as-an-employee-business-expense\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":331,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.etax.com\\\/blog\\\/#organization\"},\"keywords\":[\"business purpose\",\"deduction\",\"deductions\",\"meal expenses\",\"standard mileage rate\",\"travel expenses\"],\"articleSection\":[\"Deductions\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.etax.com\\\/blog\\\/2015\\\/03\\\/16\\\/what-qualifies-as-an-employee-business-expense\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.etax.com\\\/blog\\\/2015\\\/03\\\/16\\\/what-qualifies-as-an-employee-business-expense\\\/\",\"name\":\"What Qualifies as an Employee Business Expense? - eTax.com\u00ae Blog\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.etax.com\\\/blog\\\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2015-03-16T18:29:30+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2015-03-16T18:33:04+00:00\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.etax.com\\\/blog\\\/2015\\\/03\\\/16\\\/what-qualifies-as-an-employee-business-expense\\\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/www.etax.com\\\/blog\\\/2015\\\/03\\\/16\\\/what-qualifies-as-an-employee-business-expense\\\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.etax.com\\\/blog\\\/2015\\\/03\\\/16\\\/what-qualifies-as-an-employee-business-expense\\\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.etax.com\\\/blog\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"What Qualifies as an Employee Business Expense?\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.etax.com\\\/blog\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.etax.com\\\/blog\\\/\",\"name\":\"eTax.com\u00ae Blog\",\"description\":\"\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.etax.com\\\/blog\\\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.etax.com\\\/blog\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.etax.com\\\/blog\\\/#organization\",\"name\":\"eTax.com\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.etax.com\\\/blog\\\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.etax.com\\\/blog\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.etax.com\\\/blog\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2020\\\/08\\\/44729_463802350345150_698036533_n.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.etax.com\\\/blog\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2020\\\/08\\\/44729_463802350345150_698036533_n.png\",\"width\":225,\"height\":225,\"caption\":\"eTax.com\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.etax.com\\\/blog\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\"},\"sameAs\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/www.facebook.com\\\/eTaxcom-135749976483724\\\/\",\"https:\\\/\\\/x.com\\\/AskETAX\",\"https:\\\/\\\/www.youtube.com\\\/user\\\/855ASKETAX\"]},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.etax.com\\\/blog\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/ddb9378caffbf2f32f89a84d213b3ef4\",\"name\":\"admin\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/11f5dc3cde415e2a21a1f661e9da122266d26fe459fff87652a83908cc05aae5?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/11f5dc3cde415e2a21a1f661e9da122266d26fe459fff87652a83908cc05aae5?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/11f5dc3cde415e2a21a1f661e9da122266d26fe459fff87652a83908cc05aae5?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"admin\"},\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.etax.com\\\/blog\\\/author\\\/admin\\\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"What Qualifies as an Employee Business Expense? - eTax.com\u00ae Blog","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.etax.com\/blog\/2015\/03\/16\/what-qualifies-as-an-employee-business-expense\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"What Qualifies as an Employee Business Expense? - eTax.com\u00ae Blog","og_description":"Using your personal car for business reasons can lead to a deduction come tax time. You may qualify to deduct the actual operating expenses or you can opt to take the standard mileage rate of deduction. Remember though, you can\u2019t deduct expenses you incur while commuting back and forth to work. You may also be […]","og_url":"https:\/\/www.etax.com\/blog\/2015\/03\/16\/what-qualifies-as-an-employee-business-expense\/","og_site_name":"eTax.com\u00ae Blog","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/eTaxcom-135749976483724\/","article_published_time":"2015-03-16T18:29:30+00:00","article_modified_time":"2015-03-16T18:33:04+00:00","author":"admin","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"admin","Est. reading time":"2 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/www.etax.com\/blog\/2015\/03\/16\/what-qualifies-as-an-employee-business-expense\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.etax.com\/blog\/2015\/03\/16\/what-qualifies-as-an-employee-business-expense\/"},"author":{"name":"admin","@id":"https:\/\/www.etax.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/ddb9378caffbf2f32f89a84d213b3ef4"},"headline":"What Qualifies as an Employee Business Expense?","datePublished":"2015-03-16T18:29:30+00:00","dateModified":"2015-03-16T18:33:04+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.etax.com\/blog\/2015\/03\/16\/what-qualifies-as-an-employee-business-expense\/"},"wordCount":331,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.etax.com\/blog\/#organization"},"keywords":["business purpose","deduction","deductions","meal expenses","standard mileage rate","travel expenses"],"articleSection":["Deductions"],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.etax.com\/blog\/2015\/03\/16\/what-qualifies-as-an-employee-business-expense\/","url":"https:\/\/www.etax.com\/blog\/2015\/03\/16\/what-qualifies-as-an-employee-business-expense\/","name":"What Qualifies as an Employee Business Expense? - eTax.com\u00ae Blog","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.etax.com\/blog\/#website"},"datePublished":"2015-03-16T18:29:30+00:00","dateModified":"2015-03-16T18:33:04+00:00","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.etax.com\/blog\/2015\/03\/16\/what-qualifies-as-an-employee-business-expense\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.etax.com\/blog\/2015\/03\/16\/what-qualifies-as-an-employee-business-expense\/"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.etax.com\/blog\/2015\/03\/16\/what-qualifies-as-an-employee-business-expense\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.etax.com\/blog\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"What Qualifies as an Employee Business Expense?"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.etax.com\/blog\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.etax.com\/blog\/","name":"eTax.com\u00ae Blog","description":"","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.etax.com\/blog\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.etax.com\/blog\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/www.etax.com\/blog\/#organization","name":"eTax.com","url":"https:\/\/www.etax.com\/blog\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.etax.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/www.etax.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/44729_463802350345150_698036533_n.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.etax.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/44729_463802350345150_698036533_n.png","width":225,"height":225,"caption":"eTax.com"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.etax.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/eTaxcom-135749976483724\/","https:\/\/x.com\/AskETAX","https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/user\/855ASKETAX"]},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.etax.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/ddb9378caffbf2f32f89a84d213b3ef4","name":"admin","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/11f5dc3cde415e2a21a1f661e9da122266d26fe459fff87652a83908cc05aae5?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/11f5dc3cde415e2a21a1f661e9da122266d26fe459fff87652a83908cc05aae5?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/11f5dc3cde415e2a21a1f661e9da122266d26fe459fff87652a83908cc05aae5?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"admin"},"url":"https:\/\/www.etax.com\/blog\/author\/admin\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.etax.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/245","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.etax.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.etax.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.etax.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.etax.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=245"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.etax.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/245\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":249,"href":"https:\/\/www.etax.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/245\/revisions\/249"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.etax.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=245"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.etax.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=245"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.etax.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=245"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}