Eligibility: Total medical expenses should exceed 7.5% of AGI, or your before-tax income (including wages, interest, capital gains, income from retirement accounts, alimony paid to you) minus specific deductions (including contributions to deductible retirement accounts, alimony paid by you); it’s the number you write at the bottom of page 1 of your 1040 form.

Hard work finally recognized.
Bitter about driving around town to pick up those reports for your boss every day? Well, guess what, any out-of-pocket job expenses that are not reimbursed by your employer are deductible, including car and travel expenses, uniforms and union dues. Be sure to record your mileage to take advantage of the 48.5 cents per mile payback.

According to Doedtman, anything you need to enhance your work performance, including purchasing all forms of media pertinent to the job and taking classes to get you ahead, all fall under this category. No, you cannot deduct buying the latest DVD version of “Dirty Dancing” unless your job requires researching Jennifer Grey’s nose pre-nose job (nice try).

It’s okay to ask for help.
Rightfully so, you can write off fees associated with an accountant or professional that helped you file your taxes. Brave souls tackling the process themselves are not missing out either as they can deduct any tax preparation software, instructional books and publications used for support.

Eligibility: Total out-of-pocket job expenses and miscellaneous fees should exceed 2% of AGI
 
Sometimes it pays to be a loser.
Did you know that you might be compensated in the tax game for gambling losses after a night out on the Vegas strip? According to Doedtman, if your losses exceed your winnings, go ahead and write off the difference.