How do you handle this?

[AccTaxMan]

This is kinda confusing.

Taxpayer worked as an employee for a company. But the job was too much for her. So she decided to 'hire' someone to help her. How do you claim the expense for her since she was not even in business. I am thinking about to put it as unreimbursed employee expense on Schedule A (subject to 2% AGI limitation). Does anyone else have other ideas? Thanks.

[Anarchrist]

I believe Sch A is your only option.

[Bees Knees]

To be deductible, it has to pass the ordinary and necessary expense test of Section 162. I doubt a court is going to say it is an ordinary and necessary expense for an employee to hire someone else to help with his/her employee duties. Employees generally do not hire other people. The employer is the one who decides how many employees are needed to do a job, not the employee.

If the employer authorizes the employee to hire other people, that is a different story. Otherwise I would say it is not deductible as an ordinary and necessary expense.

[BHoffman]

Technically, it sure looks like unreimbursed employee expense. Did your client give the "helper" a 1099? Would the "helper" qualify as an IC?