The term “Miscellaneous Deductions” covers quite a wide variety of itemized deductions, and, of course, most of them are subject to the 2% income exclusion of the itemized deductions, meaning they are required to total more than 2% of your AGI.

Some of the miscellaneous deductions fall under the category of unreimbursed employee expenses, like:

• Professional and business association dues;
  

• Employment-related educational expenses. Such expenses must be for education that maintains or improves skills required in your present job, or serves a business purpose and is required by your employer, or by law or regulations, to keep your salary, status, or job. However, the costs of an education that satisfies the minimum requirements of a job are not tax deductible on your tax return, nor are the costs of a program of study that enables you to qualify for a new trade or business;
  

• Work clothes and uniforms;
  

• Fee to obtain the passport you need for overseas business trips;
  

• Moving expenses to a new job location;
  

• Impairment related work expenses for handicapped employees.
  

Tax advice and tax preparation fees for your personal taxes are also considered a miscellaneous deduction. This includes tax preparation software and tax publications, as well as electronic filing fees, fees for copying your returns or paying for return receipt postage or overnight delivery when you mail your returns. The amount is also subject to the 2% AGI limit.

Casualty and theft losses constitute another deduction with a chapter of its own on Schedule A (for which you need to file form 4684 as well).

There is also a miscellaneous deduction for casualty and theft losses on income producing property. This includes vandalism, fire, theft, storm or similar act that damages income producing property. This amount is not limited to the 2% limit. Examples of income producing property are stocks, bonds, gold, silver, and works of art held for investment purposes.

When it comes to income producing expenses, most of them are tax deductible, but, for the IRS to accept these deductions, the expenses must be "reasonably and closely related to" a taxpayer's income-producing efforts, such as:

• Legal fees to collect taxable income, such as alimony;
  

• Investment expenses, such as IRA custodial fees and fees paid to investment counselors;
  

• Expenses of proxy fights when legitimate corporate policies are involved;
  

Gambling losses are also a potential deduction on schedule A, and even if the amount is limited to the amount of gambling winnings you had for the year, the 2% limit does not apply.

Some other miscellaneous deductions not subject to the 2% limit are:

This plethora of potential miscellaneous deductions makes it more obvious than ever how valuable help from tax professionals can be, not just with finding all tax deductions you are entitled to, but also with finding a suitable strategy for you to maximize all your miscellaneous deductions.