How to Claim Job Hunting Expenses on Your Income Taxes
Did you lose your job this year? Are you getting hit hard by taxes on your severance pay and unemployment benefits? Well, did you know that job hunting expenses are tax deductible? That’s right, you can use the money spent looking for a job to reduce your taxable income.
Stay Within Your Field
You’re only allowed to deduct job hunting expenses from your income taxes as long as you remain within your field. If you make a significant job change, the IRS may view this as simply a career change rather than a legitimate job search.
Don’t Take an Extended Vacation
Let’s say your contract ends and you then take three months off to visit Costa Rica before you come home and hunker down to look for work. The IRS could claim that you quit your job as part of a vacation plan and are therefore ineligible to claim your job hunting expenses.
A week or two on the beach is one thing, but an extended vacation can often be a gray area.