Who Can Claim a Deduction on Form 2106 Line 11?

Form 2106, “Employee Business Expenses,” is used to claim specific job-related costs, and Line 11 is designated for the depreciation and Section 179 deduction on work property. The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 (TCJA) suspended the deduction for unreimbursed employee expenses for most taxpayers. This suspension means the ability to claim a deduction on Line 11 is now restricted to a specific group of employees.

Who Can Use Form 2106

The TCJA suspended the miscellaneous itemized deduction for employee business expenses from 2018 through 2025 for most W-2 employees. Because of this suspension, only certain categories of taxpayers can now file Form 2106 to deduct these costs. Eligibility is limited to the following groups:

• Armed Forces reservists who must travel more than 100 miles from home in connection with their service to claim these deductions.
• Qualified performing artists who must meet several income-related tests, including having an adjusted gross income of $16,000 or less before deducting these expenses.
• Fee-basis state or local government officials who are compensated on a fee basis for their services.
• Employees with impairment-related work expenses who can deduct costs that are necessary for them to be able to work.

Calculating the Deduction for Line 11

The amount for Line 11 is not calculated on Form 2106 itself. Taxpayers must first complete Form 4562, “Depreciation and Amortization,” to figure the annual deduction for business property. Depreciation is the method of recovering the cost of property over its useful life, while the Section 179 deduction allows a taxpayer to recover all or part of the cost of certain qualifying property by deducting it in the year it is placed in service.

To complete Form 4562, a taxpayer needs to gather specific information. This includes the total cost of the asset, the date it was first used for business purposes, and the percentage of time it is used for business versus personal use. For vehicles, this often involves tracking business mileage.

Once the calculations on Form 4562 are finished, the total depreciation and Section 179 deduction amount is transferred to Form 2106, Line 11. This figure is then combined with other vehicle expenses as part of the overall calculation of employee business expenses. The final total from Form 2106 is then carried to Schedule 1 of Form 1040.