tax break on 2 households?

Question

Hi,
My situation is I have a place in Washington and will be moving to the east coast for work and having to rent an apartment and keeping my place in Washington. So I would be paying two monthly rents. Now my stepdad said that you would get a chunk of the money back for your tax return because it would be for work. Whats the percentage I would get back or just more info. Is this possible I hope I explained this ok so somebody knows what I am talking about. Thank you

Answer 1

As long as the east coast place will only be temporary then you can possibly deduct it. Where you would report it would be on Form 2106, which I have attached a link to. The 2106 carries over to Schedule A - Itemized Deductions and is reported as part of Miscellaneous deductions. This amount has to exceed 2.% of your AGI for the excess to be deductible. Basically the amount you would get back would depend on your tax bracket.

Answer 2

There's no tax break simply for maintaining 2 households. If you are on a temporary gig back east you may be able to deduct unreimbursed travel expenses including temporary lodging. Temporary generally means less than one year.

There's no set %. You get a miscellaneous itemized deduction which reduces your taxable income so the benefit will depend upon your tax bracket. You have to file Form 2106 with your return and the totals flow to Schedule A. Here's a link to the Form 2106 instructions: http://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/i2106.pdf and here's one to the form: http://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/f2106.pdf

Answer 3

Yes, you will get some of it back. Keep your rent receipts. You won't know the percentage until you file taxes for 2007.