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Can an employee deduct the cost of a temporary office as an un-reimbursed office expense?

Forum|Forum|7 years ago
June 3, 2019
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IRS pubs only mention home office expenses. The employee worked remotely in NY City for a company based in Los Angeles. Employee rented an office at WeWork instead of working at home because office was more productive.

TurboTax Self Employed Online

Best answer by MargaretL

Yes, as an employee, you can deduct cost of the rented office as job-related expenses, if you were required to have one by your employer. The office must be for the convenience of your employer - not your own. If employer lets you "telecommute" as an option, but not as mandatory requirement - no deduction is allowed, whether it is home office or temporarily rented office.

If you do qualify as above, here is data entry:

Federal Taxes
Deductions & Credits (you may have to select See all tax breaks)
Employment Expenses
Job-Expenses for W2 Income

MargaretLAnswer

Employee

Yes, as an employee, you can deduct cost of the rented office as job-related expenses, if you were required to have one by your employer. The office must be for the convenience of your employer - not your own. If employer lets you "telecommute" as an option, but not as mandatory requirement - no deduction is allowed, whether it is home office or temporarily rented office.

If you do qualify as above, here is data entry:

Federal Taxes
Deductions & Credits (you may have to select See all tax breaks)
Employment Expenses
Job-Expenses for W2 Income

D

dantana

Is this answer still applicable for the 2018 tax year given the recent overhaul? I'm in exactly the same situation (live in Bay Area, Employer is in SoCal, and I paid out of pocket for a WeWork because I didn't have appropriate home office space for nearly full-time work from home).

Thanks for any insights.