Updated October 19, 2026. Quick answer: Form 2106 is the Employee Business Expenses form, and for 2025 the instructions limit it to four groups: Armed Forces reservists, qualified performing artists, fee-basis state or local government officials, and employees with impairment-related work expenses. Other employees are told they may not use it, because miscellaneous itemized deductions subject to the 2% floor no longer apply. The form is attached to the Form 1040 series return; the instructions print no separate due date.
Quick reference
| Item | As the IRS form or instructions state it |
|---|---|
| Form and year read | Form 2106 for 2025, Employee Business Expenses |
| Who may use it | “Use Form 2106 if you were an Armed Forces reservist, a qualified performing artist, a fee-basis state or local government official, or an employee with impairment-related work expenses.” |
| Where it goes | “Attach to Form 1040, 1040-SR, or 1040-NR.” |
| Performing artist income limit | “Had adjusted gross income of $16,000 or less before deducting expenses as a performing artist.” |
| Wages per employer for a performing artist | “Received from at least two of those employers wages of $200 or more per employer,” |
| Meals | “Generally, you can deduct only 50% of your business meal expenses, including meals incurred while away from home on business.” |
| Optional incidental expense method | “The amount of the deduction is $5 a day.” |
| Receipt threshold | “Generally, you must also have receipts for all lodging expenses (regardless of the amount) and any other expense of $75 or more.” |
What Form 2106 is for and who may still use it
The instructions open with the purpose of the form: “Use Form 2106 if you were an Armed Forces reservist, a qualified performing artist, a fee-basis state or local government official, or an employee with impairment-related work expenses.” They then close the door on everyone else: “Employees who do not fit into one of the listed categories may not use the Form 2106 due to the termination of miscellaneous itemized deductions subject to the 2% floor under section 67(a).”
The instructions add that “Section 67(h) eliminated miscellaneous itemized deductions for tax years beginning after 2017.” Reimbursements above expenses are handled separately for people outside the four groups: “the excess reimbursements should be included as wages on your Form W-2 and your income tax return.” The instructions tie that case to a nonaccountable plan.
The instructions point to a flowchart to settle the question: “See the flowchart in these instructions to find out if you must file this form.” The form’s own heading carries the same four groups in parentheses.
When Form 2106 is filed and where the result goes
Neither the form nor its instructions print a due date of their own. The form is an attachment: “Attach to Form 1040, 1040-SR, or 1040-NR.” The filing date is therefore the one for the return it is attached to. If nothing is left to deduct, the form says “Stop here and attach Form 2106 to your return.”
Where the total lands depends on the group. For the general result the form says “Also, enter the total on Schedule 1 (Form 1040), line 12.” For a worker with impairment-related expenses the instructions say to “enter the part of the line 10 amount attributable to impairment-related work expenses on Schedule A (Form 1040), line 16”.
One more filing rule concerns a single entry. The instructions say “If line 4 is your only entry, don’t complete Form 2106 unless you are claiming:” and then list performing arts expenses, fee-basis official expenses and impairment-related work expenses.
The lines in Part I, from expenses to the amount to deduct
Part I has ten lines in three steps. Step 1 collects expenses in two columns, with meals in Column B. Step 2 is line 7, reimbursements. Step 3 figures what is left to deduct. Part II covers vehicles and is described on the Form 2106 vehicle expenses page.
Line 2 is for transportation that did not involve overnight travel, and the instructions warn that “The expenses of commuting to and from work aren’t deductible.” Line 3 is for overnight travel, and the instructions define the starting point: “Generally, your tax home is your regular or main place of business or post of duty” They also set a time limit: “Generally, you can’t deduct any expenses for travel away from your tax home for any period of temporary employment of more than 1 year.”
For incidental costs the instructions allow an optional method: “You can use this method only if you didn’t pay or incur any meal expenses.” On line 7, reimbursements, the form says “Do not include amounts reported on Form W-2, box 1.” On line 8 the form says “Subtract line 7 from line 6.” and on line 10 it totals the two columns of line 9.
The special rules for each group at line 10
Line 10 is where the four groups diverge. For an Armed Forces reservist the instructions limit the deduction to the “regular federal per diem rate (for lodging, meals, and incidental expenses) and the standard mileage rate (for car expenses)” The travel in question is the “travel more than 100 miles away from home in connection with your performance of services as a member of the reserves”.
For a fee-basis official, “You are a qualifying fee-basis official if you are employed by a state or political subdivision of a state and are compensated, in whole or in part, on a fee basis.” For a qualified performing artist the instructions list four requirements, among them “Had allowable business expenses attributable to the performing arts of more than 10% of gross income from the performing arts, and” and “Had adjusted gross income of $16,000 or less before deducting expenses as a performing artist.”
A disabled employee’s expenses are defined as “the allowable expenses of an individual with physical or mental disabilities for attendant care at their place of employment.” Rural mail carriers are sent elsewhere: “If you were a rural mail carrier, do not use Form 2106.”
Records and where to read more
The instructions tie any deduction to records: “You can’t deduct expenses for travel (including meals unless you used the standard meal allowance), gifts, or use of a car or other listed property unless you keep records to prove the time, place, business purpose, business relationship (for gifts), and amounts of these expenses.”
For depth the instructions list “Pub. 463, Travel, Gift, and Car Expenses.” See also the Publication 463 page and the Schedule 1 lines 12 to 14 page.
Where this comes from
The editions read for this page are Form 2106 (2025) and the Instructions for Form 2106 (2025), dated Nov 20, 2025, which are the revisions irs.gov served when they were read on 2026-10-19. Check the revision printed on the form you file, because a later revision can change the lines and the amounts. This page describes Form 2106 (2025), Employee Business Expenses; Instructions for Form 2106 (2025), as served on irs.gov on October 19, 2026. The IRS can revise a form after we read it, and the form you file and its own instructions control. Current and earlier revisions are listed on the IRS page Forms, Instructions and Publications. General information, not tax or legal advice.
Common mistakes
- Assuming every employee can use Form 2106. The instructions say employees outside the four groups “may not use the Form 2106”.
- Counting the daily commute. The instructions say “The expenses of commuting to and from work aren’t deductible.”
- Filing the form for a single line 4 entry. The instructions say “If line 4 is your only entry, don’t complete Form 2106 unless you are claiming:”
- Using the form as a rural mail carrier. The instructions say “If you were a rural mail carrier, do not use Form 2106.”
Related: Form 2106 vehicle expenses and mileage, IRS Publication 463, Schedule 1 lines 12 to 14, Schedule A line 16, Form 4562, and Form 1040.
Sources
- Form 2106 (2025), Employee Business Expenses: https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/f2106.pdf
- Instructions for Form 2106 (2025): https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/i2106.pdf
Read from the IRS pages linked above on October 19, 2026. General information, not tax or legal advice. The IRS form and the instructions for your own form control, and your own facts decide the outcome.