Are you an Educator?
If you are a teacher, instructor, counselor, principal or aid in a school for at least 900 hours during the school year for kindergarten through 12th grade students you are eligible to take the educator expense deduction of up to $250 per year. This is an above the line deduction that you can take even if you take the standard deduction.
This deduction has been available for years for qualified expenses which included books, supplies, equipment and materials purchased to be used in the classroom. The IRS has expanded this deduction to also include expenses for Covid-19 protective items including face masks, hand sanitizer, gloves, air purifiers and other items recommended by the CDC to be used for the prevention of the spread of Covid-19.
The educator expense deduction allows eligible educators to deduct up to $250 in qualifying expenses, $500 if married filing jointly and both spouses are educators but not more than $250 each.
For information visit the IRS website.