Let me tell you
How it will be.
There’s one for you,
Nineteen for me,
‘Cause I’m the taxman.
Yeah, I’m the taxman.*

*Beatles’ Taxman lyrics from their song of the same title.

Just because you lost your job, doesn’t mean you don’t have to pay taxes.

But there’s good news: You can deduct your job search expenses. In fact, you’d be surprised to know that most costs incurred in finding a job, including going on interviews and network meetings, are deductible. Clothing and lunches are just about the only two things you cannot claim to ease your burden.

The idea is to make it easy on yourself and know before you go, like traveling with weather conditions. Your bottom line is to claim as many expenses directly related to your job search, deducting as many legitimate costs as possible. And given the long periods of time it takes to become reemployed or if you are still searching, it is reasonable that you’ve amassed a huge quantity of deductions. If your only incoming cash is from unemployment insurance benefits, and are actively seeking employment and can prove it, that stockpile should bode you well. Even if you’ve since found a job, deduct all your expenses that led to the prized moment, as long as they occurred in the last tax year for which you are now filing.

The New York State Department of Labor asks that you keep a record of where you applied and whom you saw. You would most likely have done this anyway, for your own edification and to see how far you’ve come in your job search odyssey. Most people keep records of where they applied and where they’ve gone in person.

Be honest and cautious. Itemize and deduct your costs with care. If the company has given you severance specifically to take courses, you cannot claim that tuition. However, this is not the case for most people…

The courses, textbooks and exams unemployed people take in order to upgrade skills or obtain new skills for reemployment are deductible for those in project management, various trades, construction managers, and IT software programming, for example, among other occupations. Undergraduate credits and civil service exam books can be claimed. (Fees for civil service exams are usually waived by county and local governments for unemployed test takers). The cost of faxes, resume printing, resume writing service fees, postage, stationary and envelopes are also deductible.

It’s very important to save receipts and keep a personal log—and the key is to record gas mileage and public transportation costs and all other job search costs—at different times as they occur, rather than in one sitting, as it seems more genuine when done this way and less open to scrutiny.  Of course, if you take the train to an interview, and save the ticket stub, it must be for a weekday, not a weekend. The IRS knows that human resource managers don’t work on weekends!

For details on rules and what you can and cannot claim when preparing your annual income taxes, go to www.irs.gov.

You want to look for information on “other expenses” under Schedule A.

Once on the site, go to:

1.“Forms and Publications”

2. “Instructions to Schedule A 1040”

3. See “Job Search” towards bottom

4. Go into “Open Up”—look at the items shown for deductions

Or if you feel safer in securing the services of an accountant, choose someone or a tax preparation service whose fees are reasonable. The cost of having a professional prepare your income taxes and file for you, is tax deductible, too! The earlier you prepare and file, the earlier you can receive any possible refunds. You might want to get professional advice or research whether or not you can claim any other possibilities, such as other itemized deductions of healthcare costs and insurance payments, including COBRA payments for unemployed people.

Thinking positively, once you are reemployed, uniforms and union fees are also deductible.

Here’s wishing you all many happy returns!

-The Job Goddess, who won’t rest until everyone has a job!

Read more from the Job Goddess here.

Note: The405Club is looking for a Certified Public Accountant to write a comprehensive article regarding unemployment & the best practices to file taxes. Please contact us if you would like to volunteer or nominate your friendly CPA. Contact us via http://ow.ly/10pkk.