For the calculation of income tax, expenses incurred by employees in the exercise of their profession are deductible from their taxable salary.
They are taken into account by default by a flat-rate deduction of 10%, with a minimum of 448 euros and a maximum of 12,829 euros, for those who have received remuneration greater than 128,290 euros. The allowance is automatic: there is no specific box to tick on the tax return to benefit from it.
When completing your tax return, however, you can waive this standard deduction and deduct your actual expenses. But, in this case, the allowances and reimbursements of expenses possibly received become taxable (for example allowances for teleworking expenses). They must therefore be added to your taxable salary. Do not forget to take this into account when deciding between the two possibilities.
The choice of actual costs is of course interesting if these represented more than 10% of your annual salary. You can withhold it if you had particularly high expenses in 2021, and return next year to the standard deduction. In addition, each member of your tax household can opt for the most advantageous solution for him.
Meals, subscriptions, trips…
What can you deduce? All costs related to your activity: meals, travel, accommodation and telephone costs, purchases of clothing inherent to your profession (blouses, uniforms, protective shoes, etc.), expenses relating to professional premises if your employer does not make one available to you or to a dual residence if you have had to work away from home (cost of moving included).
For travel expenses, home-workplace journeys are concerned within the limit of one round trip per day (80 kilometers maximum, except in special circumstances justifying a greater distance between your home and your place of work), if you used your personal vehicle. Expenses related to finding a new job are also deductible from your taxable income once you were registered with Pôle Emploi: travel for an interview, computer equipment, Internet subscription, training costs, etc.
The option for actual costs assumes that you can prove their reality. So that you have kept the supporting documents (invoices, receipts, hotel bills, restaurant bills, etc.): you may be asked for them until 2024.
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