It's perfect for teachers who are already ponying up for supplies. For carrying on your trade or business of being an employee, andĪs with all of your deductions, you'll want to keep excellent records (save those receipts!).Īnd that brings us to today’s giveaway - the first of the Back to School series! Jo-Ann Fabric and Craft Stores will provide a gift card worth $100 to one lucky reader.For purposes of the deduction, unreimbursed employee expenses must be: You don't have to be a teacher to claim the unreimbursed employee expenses but the rules make it clear that educator expenses not claimed elsewhere on your return qualify for the deduction. In contrast, if your AGI is $50,000 and your unreimbursed employee expenses are $700, you may not claim any of those expenses ($50,000 x 2% = $1,000 which is greater than $700). The 2% rule means that you can only deduct expenses which are in excess of 2% of your adjusted gross income (AGI).Īs an example, if your AGI is $50,000 and your unreimbursed employee expenses are $1,500, you can claim $500 ($50,000 x 2% = $1,000 which means that you can only deduct the amount ($500) of your expenses which exceed $1,000). Without the educator expense deduction, teachers and other school employees still have one more bite at the apple in 2014: those taxpayers who itemize may claim unreimbursed employee expenses on a Schedule A subject to the 2% rule. That means that you may claim it on your tax year 2013 tax return (if you're still on extension) but you may not claim it on your 2014 tax return (assuming that Congress doesn't renew it retroactively). The educator expense deduction expired after December 31, 2013. It was a nice break for educators but one that Congress didn't see fit to renew. For purposes of the deduction, eligible educators were defined as teachers, instructors, counselors, principals or aides for kindergarten through grade 12 who put in at least 900 hours during the school year in a school that provides elementary or secondary education, as determined under state law. Report the deduction on either line 23 of the federal form 1040 or line 16 of form 1040A - it's available even to those eligible educators who did not itemize in 2013. If your spouse had qualified out of pocket educator expenses and you file jointly, you could claim up to $500. Under the rules, if you were an eligible educator, you could deduct up to $250 of any unreimbursed expenses paid or incurred for books, supplies, computer equipment, other equipment, and supplementary materials used in the classroom those expenses must have been paid or incurred during the 2013 tax year. With many schools struggling to keep the lights on, teachers often find themselves dipping into their own pockets to buy books and supplies for "their" kids.įor the 2013 tax year, the IRS offered teachers and other eligible educators a little bit of a break. "But," I pushed, "This is your money." She looked at me and said, simply, "These are my kids." And they were. When I asked one day if I could help out, she shook her head. They were paid for out of pocket by the teacher. ![]() "But states tend to have a much smaller standard deduction.Those supplies weren't being topped up by the school. "It will only benefit those whose itemized deductions exceed the standard in that given state," he said. Meanwhile, the federal standard deduction for the 2019 tax year is $12,200 for singles ($24,400 for married-filing-jointly). In California, it's $4,536 for single taxpayers, while joint filers can claim a standard deduction of $9,074. ![]() What's next Thinking of being your own boss? What it means for taxes Why businesses aren't rushing to claim the $130 billion PPP potįor example, the 2019 standard deduction in New York is $8,000 for single filers ($16,050 for married couples who file jointly). More from Smart Tax Planning: These entrepreneurs are nearly out of PPP funding. This means the deductions claimed on your return must exceed the standard deduction – which will vary in each state. Typically, unreimbursed employee expenses are an itemized deduction on state income tax returns. These employees may also be able to deduct a portion of their rent, mortgage interest and utility bills that are attributable to that space on their state tax returns, Rigney said. Those extra costs could include new computer monitors, desks and ergonomic chairs, he said. "Folks who are disappointed they won't get a federal tax benefit should go ahead and keep records, including receipts of the expenses incurred," said Rigney. ![]() Personal Loans for 670 Credit Score or Lower Personal Loans for 580 Credit Score or Lower ![]() Best Debt Consolidation Loans for Bad Credit
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