I wished it were that simple........ I'm a professional aircraft (airline) mechanic. I work for a major airline. as such all I can deduct is (quoting from the Form 1040 sch A/B instructions, page A-6) "You can deduct only the part of these expenses that exceeds 2% of the amount on Form 1040, line 38." That means that I would have to spend $1285 on those "small tools" before I could deduct the first red cent of it. My tool collection both at work and home is pretty stable, so, while I do spend some money each year on tools and equipment either at work or at home, I don't come close to that kind of money. All the other items that the IRS suggests might fall into this category, uniforms, safety equipment, physicals, etc. are paid for by my employer 100%.
Many people are under the misconception that you get to deduct everything. I have a good friend in the tax preparation biz. He says people come in every year with a shoe box full of medical or prescription receipts, or tools and equipment receipts and tell him to "write it off". He says he does the taxes without ever looking at the receipts, and when he gets some numbers, goes back thru the receipts, and usually discovers that there is nothing to deduct. Of course the customer tells all their friends "I just take every thing to my tax man and he deducts it all...... " They simply don't know any better.
If you have your own business and are writing off tools and equipment as a business expense, thats great, but most of us working stiffs cannot do that.
Charles
