Is your spouse (or another loved one) looking for a job? Be sure to keep track of job-hunting expenses, which may be deductible. Besides resumes, a job hunter might spend money on developing a portfolio, transportation to interviews, phone calls, and so on.
Are those outlays deductible? Yes, for someone who is trying to find a job in the same field where he or she is working or has worked. For someone who is looking for work in an entirely new field, job-hunting costs are not deductible. The same is true for educational expenses: they’re deductible if they relate to an existing career but not to learn a new line of work.
Both job-hunting and educational expenses are considered “miscellaneous itemized deductions,” which are deductible to the extent they exceed 2 percent of your adjusted gross income (AGI). Suppose, for example, John Smith’s AGI this year is $50,000: 2 percent of his AGI would be $1,000. If John’s total miscellaneous deductions are $3,500, he’d subtract that $1,000 and claim a $2,500 deduction.
