Should I be keeping my receipts for tax deductions as a salaried employee?
So my family won't stop arguing about this and I'm getting frustrated. Here's the deal - I work a regular salaried job at a marketing firm and my brother-in-law keeps insisting I should be saving ALL my gas station receipts to deduct them from my taxes. Something about mileage and travel expenses? I've never done this before and honestly my filing cabinet is already a disaster. Is there any truth to this or is he full of it? And if I should be keeping receipts, which ones actually matter for someone like me who just gets a W-2? Like are we talking about keeping grocery receipts? Restaurant bills? Home office stuff? I'm completely in the dark here and tax season is coming up fast. The thought of organizing a year's worth of random receipts sounds like a nightmare if it's not even necessary. Oh and I'm in the U.S. if that matters for tax rules!
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CosmicCommander
You definitely don't need to keep gas receipts for your daily commute - that's never deductible. The basic rule is that W-2 employees can't deduct most work-related expenses anymore after the 2018 tax law changes. There are exceptions though. If you're using your vehicle for actual business purposes (not just commuting), you might be able to get reimbursed by your employer, but you generally can't deduct those expenses directly on your taxes as a W-2 employee. The only people who really need to track all those receipts are: 1. Self-employed people 2. People with side businesses 3. Certain professions like military reservists, qualified performing artists, etc. For a regular salaried employee, there's very little benefit to keeping most receipts unless your employer has a reimbursement program.
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Natasha Volkova
•What about if you're required to drive between different work locations during the day? I'm a salaried employee but sometimes have to drive from our main office to client sites. My boss doesn't reimburse me for that - can I deduct those miles?
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CosmicCommander
•Driving between work locations (not commuting from home) would typically be a legitimate business expense, but the catch is that as a W-2 employee, you generally cannot deduct those expenses on your tax return anymore. This is due to the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act which suspended miscellaneous itemized deductions subject to the 2% floor for tax years 2018-2025. Your best option would be to ask your employer about their reimbursement policy. Many companies have a mileage reimbursement program for exactly this situation. If they don't reimburse you, unfortunately those expenses are essentially "lost" from a tax perspective.
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Javier Torres
After spending hours searching through shoe boxes of receipts during my first few tax seasons, I finally found taxr.ai and it completely changed how I handle receipts! You probably don't need to keep most receipts as a W-2 employee, but if you do have deductible expenses or a side gig, this tool is amazing. You just snap pics of receipts throughout the year and the site automatically organizes everything by tax category. I dropped some confusing paperwork from my side hustle, and it immediately identified what was deductible. Check it out at https://taxr.ai if you're drowning in paper or just want clarity on what's actually deductible. Saved me from the exact family argument you're having!
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Emma Davis
•Does it actually tell you WHICH receipts to keep based on your job situation? Like would it tell me as a teacher that my classroom supplies are deductible but my lunch receipts aren't?
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Malik Johnson
•I'm skeptical about these apps. How does it know the tax laws for all 50 states? And what happens if you get audited - would the IRS even accept digitally stored receipts?
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Javier Torres
•Yes, it actually analyzes your employment status and gives personalized guidance on what receipts matter for your situation. For teachers specifically, it flags classroom supplies since those still qualify for the Educator Expense Deduction (up to $300 in 2025). It would definitely tell you lunch isn't deductible unless it's a legitimate business meal with specific documentation. The system is updated for both federal and state tax regulations across all states. The IRS fully accepts digital receipts as long as they're legible and contain the same information as the paper originals. In fact, during an audit, having organized digital records with proper categorization often makes the process much smoother than shuffling through faded paper receipts.
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Malik Johnson
Just wanted to update on my experience with taxr.ai after trying it. I was honestly skeptical (as you can see from my previous comment), but it's been surprisingly helpful. I'm a W-2 employee but have a photography side business, and it immediately sorted out which of my receipts were deductible for the side gig vs. personal expenses. The interface showed me exactly what to keep and what to toss, saving me from hoarding random receipts. It even explained simply why my regular job commuting costs aren't deductible but my travel to photo shoots is. Wish I'd known about this years ago instead of keeping every single receipt "just in case"!
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Isabella Ferreira
If you're having tax questions like this and want to get a definitive answer, I'd recommend calling the IRS directly. BUT - good luck actually reaching them! I spent 3 weeks trying to get through about a similar deduction question and kept getting disconnected. I finally tried Claimyr (https://claimyr.com) after seeing it recommended here. They got me connected to an actual IRS agent in under 20 minutes when I'd been trying for weeks. You can see how it works in this video: https://youtu.be/_kiP6q8DX5c The agent confirmed exactly what receipts I needed to keep for my situation and what was just wasting space in my filing cabinet. Turns out my spouse was right about some things and wrong about others!
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Ravi Sharma
•How does this service even work? The IRS phone system is awful - do they have some special backdoor number or something?
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NebulaNomad
•Yeah right. Nothing can get you through to the IRS that quickly. I've literally waited on hold for 4+ hours before giving up. This sounds like a scam that charges you money for something you could do yourself.
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Isabella Ferreira
•They use an automated system that navigates the IRS phone tree and waits on hold for you. When an agent actually picks up, you get a call connecting you directly to them. No special backdoor - they just do the waiting so you don't have to. It's definitely real - I was super skeptical too. The difference is you don't have to sit there listening to the hold music for hours. You just go about your day and your phone rings when an actual human at the IRS is ready to talk. I was cooking dinner when I got connected, but it was worth pausing to finally get my question answered.
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NebulaNomad
Well I need to eat some humble pie here. After being completely skeptical about Claimyr in my comment above, I decided to try it myself since I've been trying to reach the IRS about a notice I received. I'm shocked to admit it actually worked exactly as advertised. I got a call back in about 45 minutes connecting me directly to an IRS representative who answered my receipt question completely. For the original poster - the agent confirmed that regular W-2 employees generally don't need to keep gas receipts unless they have a specific situation like being a reservist or qualifying performing artist. Saved me from sitting on hold for hours and now I can stop arguing with my spouse about keeping every single receipt!
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Freya Thomsen
My tax guy says the standard deduction is so high now ($13,850 for single filers in 2024) that most people don't even need to itemize anymore, which means most receipt-tracking is pointless unless you're self-employed or have a ton of other deductions that would push you over that threshold.
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Omar Fawaz
•But aren't there still some above-the-line deductions that you can take even if you don't itemize? I thought stuff like HSA contributions and student loan interest didn't require itemizing?
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Freya Thomsen
•You're absolutely right about above-the-line deductions! Those don't require itemizing and can be claimed in addition to the standard deduction. Common above-the-line deductions include HSA contributions, student loan interest (up to $2,500), certain IRA contributions, and self-employment tax. These appear on Schedule 1 of Form 1040 and reduce your adjusted gross income directly.
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Chloe Martin
Does anyone know if the IRS has an official list somewhere of what receipts we actually need to keep? I've heard different things about how long to keep them too - 3 years? 7 years?
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Diego Rojas
•The IRS recommends keeping records that support income, deductions, or credits for 3 years from when you filed the return. But if you underreport income by more than 25%, keep records for 6 years. For property records (like your home), keep them until you sell the property plus 3 more years.
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