My employer gave me a laptop to use at my workplace. They added the value of my laptop ($950) to my pay check as additional income/payment. I had to pay taxes on that $950. (roughly $330) Can I deduct that from my taxes?

ANSWER

The BIDaWIZ Team's Answer:

Is the computer only used in the office or is it also provided for out of office use? If the computer is also used outside of the office and you don't have documentation to support that you never used it for personal, then your employer is correct in including the value of the benefit in your taxable wages. However, if the computer was never used outside of the office or you have documentation to support business-use outside of the office, then you should claim a miscellaneous itemized deduction on Schedule A of form 1040. Of course, you will need to itemize deductions and the amount deductible as a miscellaneous must exceed 2% of your adjusted gross income. This wouldn't matter if you are claiming the standard deduction.