Question

Unreimbursed Employee Expenses

Forum|Forum|3 years ago
March 4, 2023
1 reply
0 views

I've seen a couple of questions about this going back to 2019 that it has been eliminated.

However, IRS Pub. 463 still shows this deduction as available to persons subject to USDOT rules and regulations, in fact, there is a current guide book for preparing 2022 taxes, yet TT does not include this deduction. In my case, my deduction for my meals/expenses on the road as a truck driver puts me over the standard deduction by 15%, meaning I would owe almost ZERO, instead of a large amount.

Why the discrepancy?

TurboTax Home & Biz Windows

P

PattiF

It depends if you are an employee or self-employed, which will determine if you are eligible to take the deductions as a truck driver.

From TurboTax Tips for Truck Drivers:

Who can claim truck driver tax deductions?

If you're an employee of a trucking company and receive a W-2 at the end of the year, unfortunately, none of your job-related expenses are tax-deductible. If you're a self-employed driver, on the other hand, you can deduct expenses related to your work.

**Say "Thanks" by clicking the thumb icon in a post**Mark the post that answers your question by clicking on "Mark as Best Answer"

E

egpAuthor

Again, IRS Pub 463 says otherwise, and within Chp. 2 of Pub 463 it's very specific about workers who are covered under USDOT Hours Of Service Rules. Also TT refers to pub 463 for reference at least 4 different times when I click on "Learn More" tabs within TT.

IRS Pub 463: 2022 Publication 463 (irs.gov)

Individuals subject to “hours of service”
limits. You can deduct a higher percentage of
your meal expenses while traveling away from
your tax home if the meals take place during or
incident to any period subject to the Department
of Transportation's “hours of service” limits. The
percentage is 80%.
Individuals subject to the Department of
Transportation's “hours of service” limits include
the following persons.
• Certain air transportation workers (such as
pilots, crew, dispatchers, mechanics, and
control tower operators) who are under
Federal Aviation Administration regulations.
• Interstate truck operators and bus drivers
who are under Department of Transportation regulations.
• Certain railroad employees (such as engineers, conductors, train crews, dispatchers, and control operations personnel) who
are under Federal Railroad Administration
regulations.
• Certain merchant mariners who are under
Coast Guard regulations.

M

MAK70

The rules you are referring to are correct- but they apply to self-employed truck drivers so the deduction are taken on a Schedule C. You cannot take the Job Related Expenses as an Itemized Deduction as a W-2 employee. @egp