The Work Buzz's Latest News: What can job seekers deduct on their taxes?

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What can job seekers deduct on their taxes? Posted: 07 Feb 2011 06:30 AM PST Rarely does anyone greet tax season with a big smile, an excited march to the file cabinet and a celebratory beer. More often the arrival of your W-2 statement in the mail causes a sigh, a frantic search for important documents in your desk (and on the floor and in the trash) and a therapeutic six-pack of beer just to get you through it all. Now, we can't erase the pain of filing your taxes; that's between you and Uncle Sam. However, we might be able to get you a little more cash at the end of the year, or maybe cause you to pay less. See, many job seekers don't realize that they can claim some of the expenses from their job seeking efforts on their taxes. And even for those who do know, they don't always understand what is and isn't a valid claim. According to the Tax Breaks for the Unemployed Survey 2011 conducted by Complete Tax, not everyone is clear on the rules for expensing job search efforts. The survey asked readers to declare the following statements true or false. Before looking at the answers in the chart below, see if you can answer the correctly. Haircuts or clothes necessary for job interviewing can be deducted Travel for job interviews can be deducted Printing and mailing résumés can be deducted A home office used to help in a job search can be deducted Outplacement firm fees can be deducted Classes to learn new skills outside the person’s trade can be deducted Here are the answers and the percentage of respondents who answered correctly and incorrectly. In fact, only 1 percent of surveyed taxpayers answered all six correctly. As you can see, outplacement firm fees, some résumé expenses, and traveling for interviews can be deductible. This means that you could be hurting yourself financially but not claiming them, or at the very least you're not taking full advantage of the financial options available to you. Perhaps more surprising is how confused taxpayers are when it comes to who has to file taxes and who doesn't. For example, 43 percent of taxpayers thought unemployed workers can delay paying their income taxes, and 44 percent thought health care costs are tax deductible for anyone unemployed. Neither is correct. Even unemployed taxpayers must pay their taxes on time and their health-care costs are not tax deductible. If you're searching for a job, and especially if you're unemployed, money is probably tight. However, if you can afford to have a professional prepare your taxes for you, you should because they probably have other tips to help you save money due to your job search. And if you can't, you can always do some digging to see what is and isn't deductible, both job-related and not. (The full survey is an interested read if you have the time.) How are your taxes coming along? Are you waiting until the last-minute to file them or are you doing them now in hopes of receiving a refund? Do you have any other tips for fellow job seekers come tax time? Leave them in the comments! (Also feel free to lament the fact that W-2s are just generally depressing. If you've been unemployed, the number is a major bummer. Or your take-home isn't as big as it should be. Or your total earnings seem small for all the hard work you put in. Whatever it is, let this be your tax season therapy.) Related posts: Tax time dilemmas for workers and job seekers Tax season can be, well, taxing to say the least,... Job Offers Come In, Salary Goes Down Today's unemployed job seekers haven't had the easiest time finding... Tax tips for freelancers On Wednesday, I wrote a post about everyone’s favorite time of year:...

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