Expensing a Laptop for business?

You can deduct the expense for the laptop if your employer requires you to have one and you actually paid for it. Any personal use of the laptop is not deductible.

The laptop would be considered a miscellaneous itemized deduction subject to 2% floor, which means the deduction can only be taken if you do itemized deductions on your tax return intead of taking the standard deduction AND only if your total itemizing expenses are more than 2% of your Adjusted Gross Income for the year.

So unless you have a lot more other itemizing expenses, you are out of luck on this $700. And remember your company has to have the requirement of laptop for you to consider this $700 an itemizing expense.

But, before you waste all that time. What's your AGI? Even if you could deduct 100% of the laptop (keep a log of usage, no games, no personal email on the machine), the section you use of the schedule A subtracts out 2% of your adjusted AGI. If you make more than $35,000 there's nothing left to add to schedule A...and if you weren't already itemizing, you'd need $5450 of expenses to see a difference on your taxes.

If you already itemize and your income is less than $35000, then you have prove why you need the laptop to the IRS. Just because you want one isn't good enough. It would help if you have a letter from your employer that a) you are required to have a laptop to perform your job and b) they will not be providing one for you. You have to show why you can't just use a computer at the office.

Without the letter, you'd have to prove why you needed the laptop. If you travel constantly for the job, sure. If it's simply more convenient for you to have one so you can work from home, no.

If you use exclusively for your job and your employer requires you to have it, then you can deduct it as employee business expenses.

1. You can deduct amount that is over 2 per cent of your AGI. If your adjusted gross income is $35,000, then first $700 are not deductible.

2. Also employee business expenses are available as itemized deduction. You will take deduction only if your itemized deductions are more than your standard deduction.. Read about employee business deduction: http://taxipay.blogspot.com/2008/05/itemized-deduc...