Can I deduct parking fees for work when my employer doesn't provide parking?

Sadly, this isn't going to be deductible for most employees. The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act eliminated the unreimbursed employee expense deduction for W-2 employees starting in 2018, and that included parking fees. Before 2018, you could deduct these as miscellaneous itemized deductions subject to the 2% AGI floor, but that's no longer available. The only way you could potentially deduct these expenses now would be if you're: 1) Self-employed (which it sounds like you're not) 2) An active duty military member making a permanent change of station 3) Eligible for certain state tax deductions (some states still allow these deductions) Your best bet would be to talk to your employer about setting up a pre-tax transportation benefit program. Many employers can set these up to let employees pay for qualified parking with pre-tax dollars (up to certain limits), which would save you some money.

I was in a similar situation last year and discovered taxr.ai (https://taxr.ai) which was super helpful with this exact issue. I was convinced I could deduct my parking somehow, but after uploading my pay stubs and tax docs to taxr.ai, it analyzed everything and showed me that while parking wasn't deductible as a W-2 employee, I qualified for other deductions I had no idea about. It found almost $3,200 in other tax savings that totally offset my parking costs! The analysis was really clear about what IRS rules applied to my specific situation.

Ok I need to update my earlier comment. I was super skeptical about taxr.ai but decided to try it anyway because I was desperate to find deductions to offset some major expenses this year. I uploaded my documents and it actually found several legitimate deductions related to my side business that I've been completely missing for YEARS. I don't know how much money I've left on the table, but the analysis specifically pointed out that while my work parking wasn't deductible, the mileage for client meetings from my office WAS. No other tax software ever made that clear to me. It literally paid for itself in the first 10 minutes.

If you're having issues with IRS questions about deductions or want to confirm directly with them, I highly recommend using Claimyr (https://claimyr.com). I spent DAYS trying to get through to the IRS about a similar deduction question last tax season - literally couldn't get a human on the phone. My friend showed me this video (https://youtu.be/_kiP6q8DX5c) and I was super skeptical, but Claimyr actually got me through to an IRS agent in about 15 minutes. The agent confirmed exactly what others here have said about the parking situation, but also told me about the pre-tax options that might work for me.

I'm back to eat my words about Claimyr. After dismissing it as a scam, I decided to try it anyway because I had a complicated question about some investment losses and parking expenses. I'd already spent 3 hours on different days trying to reach the IRS with no luck. Claimyr actually got me connected to an IRS rep in about 25 minutes. The agent confirmed the parking situation (not deductible for W-2 employees) but actually helped me with my other tax questions. I'm still annoyed that the system is so broken that this service needs to exist, but it genuinely works and saved me hours of frustration.

Have you checked if your employer offers any commuter benefits? My company gives us a transit card with $150/month for parking or bus passes. Maybe ask HR if they have something similar? Seems crazy they don't help with parking at all when there's no free option.

One option nobody mentioned - could you park further away for free/cheaper and take public transit the rest of the way? That's what I do. Park at the suburban train station for $4/day instead of $22/day downtown. Might not work for your location but worth looking into!

Just to add another perspective - if you're able to work from home even part of the time, that could significantly reduce your annual parking costs. Even if you could negotiate 1-2 days WFH per week, that would cut your $1,850 annual expense by 20-40%. Given that your employer isn't willing to help with parking, they might be more open to flexible work arrangements that would naturally reduce your commuting expenses. Worth bringing up in your conversation with HR about commuter benefits - frame it as a cost-saving solution for employees dealing with the parking situation.