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Hopefully you have kept your receipts if you have been unemployed in the past year. Some individuals are going to skip out on opting for a professional CPA to complete their taxes this year and try their hand at this dirty little task. If you are one who is opting out of paying a professional to do your taxes, you need to refresh yourself on what you can write off from your job search.

Hopefully you kept a very detailed record of your job search expenses, because it is about to pay off! Keep in mind that you should refresh yourself on your local IRS laws before you complete your taxes. In this recession the last thing you need is to get hit with an audit or penalties.
Let’s start with the basics:

How much did you spend on your resume? Yes, that is right. You can write off your resume expenses. This includes professional writers you sought to tweak your resume. It even includes supplies like paper, envelopes, stamps, ink, and of course any other related expenses you have when it comes to your resume. Did you pay for resume cards? If so you can proudly write this expense off as well!

Did you pay out of pocket to go on an interview? If you did, you’re not alone. Many job seekers have had to pay for travel, gas, mileage, parking, or at least suit cleaning costs before interviewing for a job. If you had to pay out of pocket and did not get reimbursed by the company, you can claim this as a related job search expense.

Are you paying to stay on job boards? Most job boards are requiring monthly or bi monthly payments to become an active member of their site. If you are a job seeker who has paid to stay on these job boards you can deduct this expense as well.

Are you working from home or have you started to freelance while unemployed? If so, you will have plenty of write offs related to funding, marketing, and starting your own business! However, if you started a business you may want to seriously consider hiring an accountant.

If you had to purchase a new phone or a land line for your job search you can deduct that expense as well.

Remember that you will need proof and/or documentation of all expenses for these write offs to be ligament. Also remember that if you have been reimbursed by a company for any of these expenses, you may not write that particular expense off.

Hopefully you will be able to receive some of the money back that you have invested in your job search!

Necessary Disclaimer: Please note, I am not a professional accountant or CPA, only a fellow job seeker looking to save money while struggling through a job hunt. That said, the advice in this article should not be seen as a source of accounting advice, but only potential ideas for identifying possible tax write offs. Consult a CPA or current State and Federal tax laws before attempting to use any of the suggestions in this article.

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3. Job Search Basics
4. Handling the Stress of the Job Search
5. Manage Your Job Search Culture