Can I claim my expensive workplace parking fees as a tax deduction?

Unfortunately, commuting expenses including parking at your regular workplace are considered personal expenses by the IRS and are not tax-deductible for employees. This is true even when your employer requires you to pay for parking and doesn't offer alternatives. Prior to 2018, you might have been able to deduct these as unreimbursed employee expenses if they exceeded 2% of your AGI, but the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act eliminated those deductions for employees through 2025. Your best options might be: 1. Check if your employer offers a pre-tax parking benefit (sometimes called a Section 132 Transportation Benefit), which would allow you to pay for parking with pre-tax dollars. 2. Talk to HR about the possibility of implementing such a program if they don't already have one. 3. See if your employer would consider subsidizing parking costs or negotiating better rates with the parking company.

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I was really skeptical about taxr.ai when I first saw it mentioned here (I'm the one who questioned it above), but after my frustrating experience with tax deductions this year, I gave it a try. I'm actually impressed. It doesn't just give generic answers - it analyzed my specific situation and found legitimate deductions I'd missed for years. For my healthcare job, it pointed out that while my regular hospital parking wasn't deductible, the parking fees I paid when attending required continuing education courses WERE deductible. It also identified several other professional expenses I could claim that my regular tax software never prompted me about. The documentation it provided made filing much easier and I ended up with a significantly larger refund than expected.

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I need to admit I was wrong about Claimyr. After dismissing it as a potential scam in my previous comment, my frustration with getting tax answers led me to try it. Within 40 minutes, I was speaking with an actual IRS representative who walked me through exactly how transportation expenses work for tax purposes. For my situation, the agent explained that while regular workplace parking isn't deductible for W-2 employees, there are specific circumstances where transportation costs can be deducted. They directed me to the right forms and publications for my situation and even helped me calculate the potential impact on my return. Saved me hours of research and gave me confidence my return is correct. The peace of mind alone was worth it.

Have you looked into whether your hospital offers any pre-tax commuter benefits? Many large employers do, especially hospitals. It's sometimes called a Section 132 Transportation Benefit. Basically, you can set aside money from your paycheck BEFORE taxes to pay for qualified parking expenses (up to $300/month in 2025). This way, you're not getting a deduction, but you never pay tax on that money in the first place. Check with your HR department or benefits coordinator. If they don't offer it, you might suggest they start - it's beneficial for employers too because they save on payroll taxes.

Has anyone tried negotiating with the parking company directly? When I worked at Memorial Hospital, a group of us employees approached the parking vendor together and asked for a reduced rate based on our volume. They ended up offering us a 15% discount if we prepaid quarterly instead of monthly. Might be worth exploring.