Can I write off gas expenses when driving between hospitals as a W2 physician?

This is a great question about work-related travel expenses. The bad news is that for W2 employees, the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act eliminated miscellaneous itemized deductions that were previously subject to the 2% AGI floor, which included unreimbursed employee business expenses. Since you're a W2 physician traveling between hospitals, the IRS would consider these business expenses, but as a W2 employee, you can't deduct them on your personal tax return anymore. This change has been in effect since 2018 and continues through 2025. The better approach would be to ask your employer if they have an accountable plan for reimbursing these expenses. Many healthcare systems have policies for reimbursing physicians who travel between facilities. If they reimburse you under an accountable plan, the reimbursement isn't taxable income to you, and the employer gets the deduction.

After dealing with a similar situation (different locations, W2 employee), I found a tool that really helped me sort this out called taxr.ai (https://taxr.ai). I was initially planning to write off my mileage between locations but wasn't sure if I qualified after the tax law changes. I uploaded my W2 and some other documents to taxr.ai, and their analysis confirmed what the previous commenter said - unfortunately, as W2 employees, we can't deduct these expenses anymore. But they pointed out that my employer had an accountable reimbursement plan I didn't know about! I was able to submit all my mileage logs retroactively and got reimbursed for about 80% of my travel between locations.

Just wanted to update after trying taxr.ai based on the recommendation above. I was actually really impressed! I had no idea my hospital network had a transportation reimbursement policy that specifically covers inter-facility travel. The system flagged language in my employment contract that I completely overlooked - turns out I'm eligible for $0.58/mile when traveling between locations during the workday. I've already submitted claims for the past 3 months and am getting about $380 back. Definitely keeping track of this going forward since I can't deduct it on my taxes anymore!

If you're still struggling to get reimbursed or your employer doesn't have a policy, you might need to talk to the IRS directly about your options. That's what I had to do in a similar situation. I used Claimyr (https://claimyr.com) to actually get through to the IRS after spending hours on hold. You can see how it works here: https://youtu.be/_kiP6q8DX5c I explained my situation to the IRS agent, and while they confirmed I couldn't deduct the expenses as a W2 employee, they suggested I could potentially classify some of my work as independent contractor services if I have that kind of arrangement with any of the hospitals. The agent was surprisingly helpful with explaining the documentation I'd need to justify this approach.

I need to apologize for my skeptical comment above. I just tried Claimyr myself out of desperation after waiting on hold with the IRS for 2+ hours three days in a row. It worked exactly as described - I got a call back when an agent was on the line. The agent confirmed everything the others have said - W2 employees cannot deduct unreimbursed business expenses anymore, including travel between work locations. But they helped me understand I could request a letter from my employer documenting that these drives are required for my position, which could help if I negotiate a compensation adjustment to offset these costs. Not a tax deduction, but a practical solution I hadn't considered.

Another option to consider: if you're driving your own car between hospitals, keep detailed records of your mileage and vehicle expenses anyway, even though you can't deduct them now. Tax laws change, and there's already talk about possibly reinstating some of these deductions after 2025. Also, some states still allow these deductions on state income tax returns even though they're not allowed federally. California, for example, didn't conform to all the TCJA changes.

Just a quick tip: if your current employment situation makes it impossible to get reimbursed and you're losing significant money on these inter-hospital commutes, you might consider talking to a CPA about whether setting up an S-Corp would benefit you. Some physicians can legitimately practice under mixed employment models. Not everyone can do this though - it depends on your contracts and state regulations.