OMB No. 1545-0074 2106-EZ Unreimbursed Employee Business Expenses Form

Department of the Treasury

Internal Revenue Service © Attach to Form 1040 or Form 1040NR.

Attachment

Sequence No. 54A

Your name Occupation in which you incurred expenses Social security number

Vehicle expense using the standard mileage rate. Complete Part II and multiply line 8a by 44.5¢ 

(.445)

1

2

Parking fees, tolls, and transportation, including train, bus, etc., that did not involve overnight 

travel or commuting to and from work

2

Travel expense while away from home overnight, including lodging, airplane, car rental, etc.

Do not include meals and entertainment

3

3

Business expenses not included on lines 1 through 3. Do not include meals and

entertainment

4

4

5

Meals and entertainment expenses: $ × 50% (.50) (Employees subject to

Department of Transportation (DOT) hours of service limits: Multiply meal expenses incurred 

while away from home on business by 75% (.75) instead of 50%. For details, see instructions.)

5

Total expenses. Add lines 1 through 5. Enter here and on Schedule A (Form 1040), line 20 

(or on Schedule A (Form 1040NR, line 9). (Armed Forces reservists, fee-basis state or local 

government officials, qualified performing artists, and individuals with disabilities: See the

instructions for special rules on where to enter this amount.)

6

6

Cat. No. 20604Q Form 2106-EZ (2006)

Part I

Part II

Figure Your Expenses

You May Use This Form Only if All of the Following Apply.

● You are an employee deducting ordinary and necessary expenses attributable to your job. An ordinary expense is one that is 

common and accepted in your field of trade, business, or profession. A necessary expense is one that is helpful and appropriate 

for your business. An expense does not have to be required to be considered necessary.

● If you are claiming vehicle expense, you are using the standard mileage rate for 2006.

● You do not get reimbursed by your employer for any expenses (amounts your employer included in box 1 of your Form W-2 are 

not considered reimbursements for this purpose).

Information on Your Vehicle. Complete this part only if you are claiming vehicle expense on line 1.

7

8

a

9

10

11a

b

When did you place your vehicle in service for business use? (month, day, year) © / /

Of the total number of miles you drove your vehicle during 2006, enter the number of miles you used your vehicle for:

Do you (or your spouse) have another vehicle available for personal use?

Was your vehicle available for personal use during off-duty hours?

Do you have evidence to support your deduction?

If “Yes,” is the evidence written?

Business

Yes No

b Commuting (see instructions) c Other

Yes No

Yes No

Yes No

(99)

For Paperwork Reduction Act Notice, see page 4.

Caution: You can use the standard mileage rate for 2006 only if: (a) you owned the vehicle and used the standard mileage rate for the first year

you placed the vehicle in service, or (b) you leased the vehicle and used the standard mileage rate for the portion of the lease period after 1997.

2006

1
[This Page Left Intentionally Blank]
Form 2106-EZ (2006) Page 3

Schedule A (Form 1040), lines 5 through

9 (or Schedule A (Form 1040NR), lines 1

through 3). Employees cannot deduct

car loan interest.

Note. If line 4 is your only entry, do not

complete Form 2106-EZ unless you are

claiming:

Line 5. Generally, you can deduct only

50% of your business meal and

entertainment expenses, including meals

incurred while away from home on

business. If you were an employee

subject to the Department of

Transportation (DOT) hours of service

limits, that percentage is 75% for

business meals consumed during, or

incident to, any period of duty for which

those limits are in effect.

● Expenses for performing your job as a

fee-basis state or local government

official,

● Performing-arts-related business

expenses as a qualified performing

artist, or

● Impairment-related work expenses as

an individual with a disability.

See the line 6 instructions for

definitions. If you are not required to file

Form 2106-EZ, enter your expenses

directly on Schedule A (Form 1040),

line 20 (or on Schedule A (Form

1040NR), line 9).

Instead of actual cost, you may be

able to claim the standard meal

allowance for your daily meals and

incidental expenses (M&IE) while away

from your tax home overnight. Under

this method, you deduct a specified

amount, depending on where you travel,

instead of keeping records of your actual

meal expenses. However, you must still

keep records to prove the time, place,

and business purpose of your travel.

Employees subject to the DOT hours

of service limits include certain air

transportation employees, such as pilots,

crew, dispatchers, mechanics, and

control tower operators; interstate truck

operators and interstate bus drivers;

certain railroad employees, such as

engineers, conductors, train crews,

dispatchers, and control operations

personnel; and certain merchant

mariners.

You may be able to take a

credit for your educational

expenses instead of a

deduction. See Form 8863,

Education Credits, for details.

The standard meal allowance is the

federal M&IE rate. For most small

localities in the United States, this rate is

$39 a day for the period from January 1

through December 31, 2006. Most major

cities and many other localities in the

United States qualify for higher rates. You

can find these rates on the Internet at

www.gsa.gov.

Instructions for

Form 2106-EZ

Section references are to the Internal

Revenue Code.

Purpose of Form

You may use Form 2106-EZ instead of

Form 2106 to claim your unreimbursed

employee business expenses if you

meet all the requirements listed above

Part I of the form.

What’s New

Standard mileage rate. For 2006, the

standard mileage rate for each mile of

business use is 44.5 cents.

Recordkeeping

You cannot deduct expenses for travel

(including meals, unless you used the

standard meal allowance), entertainment,

gifts, or use of a car or other listed

property, unless you keep records to

prove the time, place, business purpose,

business relationship (for entertainment

and gifts), and amounts of these

expenses. Generally, you must also have

receipts for all lodging expenses

(regardless of the amount) and any other

expense of $75 or more.

Additional Information

For more details about employee

business expenses, see:

Pub. 463, Travel, Entertainment, Gift,

and Car Expenses

Pub. 529, Miscellaneous Deductions

Pub. 587, Business Use of Your Home

(Including Use by Daycare Providers)

Pub. 946, How To Depreciate Property

Specific Instructions

Part I—Figure Your

Expenses

Line 2. See the line 8b instructions for

the definition of commuting.

Line 3. Enter lodging and transportation

expenses connected with overnight

travel away from your tax home (defined

on this page). You cannot deduct

expenses for travel away from your tax

home for any period of temporary

employment of more than 1 year. Do not

include expenses for meals and

entertainment on this line. For more

details, including limits, see Pub. 463.

Tax home. Generally, your tax home

is your main place of business or post of

duty regardless of where you maintain

your family home. If you do not have a

regular or main place of business

because of the nature of your work, then

your tax home is the place where you

regularly live. If you do not fit in either of

these categories, you are considered an

itinerant and your tax home is wherever

you work. As an itinerant, you are never

away from home and cannot claim a

travel expense deduction. For more

information about determining your tax

home, see Pub. 463.

If you did not pay or incur meal

expenses on a day you were traveling

away from your tax home, you can use

an optional method for deducting

incidental expenses instead of keeping

records of your actual incidental

expenses. The amount of the deduction

is $3 a day. Incidental expenses include

fees and tips given to porters, baggage

carriers, bellhops, hotel maids, stewards

Line 4. Enter other job-related expenses

not listed on any other line of this form.

Include expenses for business gifts,

education (tuition and books), home

office, trade publications, etc. For details,

including limits, see Pub. 463 and

Pub. 529.

TIP

For locations outside the continental

United States, the applicable rates are

published each month. You can find these

rates on the Internet at www.state.gov.

If you are deducting home office

expenses, see Pub. 587 for special

instructions on how to report these

expenses.

If you are deducting depreciation or

claiming a section 179 deduction on a

cellular telephone or other similar

telecommunications equipment, a home

computer, etc., see Form 4562,

Depreciation and Amortization, to figure

the depreciation and section 179

deduction to enter on line 4.

or stewardesses and others on ships,

and hotel servants in foreign countries.

They do not include expenses for

laundry, cleaning and pressing of

clothing, lodging taxes, or the costs of

telegrams or telephone calls. You cannot

use this method on any day that you use

the standard meal allowance (as

explained in the instructions for line 5).

CAUTION

At the time these instructions

went to print, Congress was

considering legislation that

would extend the deductions

for educator expenses and tuition and

fees that expired at the end of 2005.

While certain of these expenses may be

deductible on Form 2106-EZ, it may be

to your benefit to deduct them on your

tax return as adjustments to your total

income.

To find out if this legislation was

enacted, and for more details, go to

www.irs.gov, click on More Forms and

Publications, and then on What’s Hot in

forms and publications, or see Pub. 553,

Highlights of 2006 Tax Changes.

Do not include expenses for meals

and entertainment, taxes, or interest on

line 4. Deductible taxes are entered on
Form 2106-EZ (2006) Page 4

Disabled employee with

impairment-related work expenses.

Impairment-related work expenses are

the allowable expenses of an individual

with physical or mental disabilities for

attendant care at his or her place of

employment. They also include other

expenses in connection with the place of

employment that enable the employee to

work. See Pub. 463 for details.

Part II—Information on Your

Vehicle

If you claim vehicle expense, you must

provide certain information on the use of

your vehicle by completing Part II.

Include an attachment listing the

information requested in Part II for any

additional vehicles you used for business

during the year.

Line 7. The date placed in service is

generally the date you first start using

your vehicle. However, if you first start

using your vehicle for personal use and

later convert it to business use, the

vehicle is treated as placed in service on

the date you started using it for business.

Line 8a. Do not include commuting

miles on this line; commuting miles are

not considered business miles. See the

definition of commuting under Line 8b.

amount to enter on line 8b by

multiplying the number of days during

the year that you used your vehicle for

commuting by the average daily

roundtrip commuting distance in miles.

However, if you converted your vehicle

during the year from personal to

business use (or vice versa), enter your

commuting miles only for the period you

drove your vehicle for business.

Generally, commuting is travel

between your home and a work location.

However, travel that meets any of the

following conditions is not commuting.

● The travel is to a temporary work

location outside the metropolitan area

where you live and normally work.

● Your home is your principal place of

business under section 280A(c)(1)(A) (for

purposes of deducting expenses for

business use of your home) and the

travel is to another work location in the

same trade or business, regardless of

whether that location is regular or

temporary and regardless of distance.

● You have at least one regular work

location away from your home and the

travel is to a temporary work location in

the same trade or business, regardless

of the distance. Generally, a temporary

work location is one where your

employment is expected to last 1 year or

less. See Pub. 463 for details.

2. Received at least $200 each from

any two of these employers,

3. Had allowable business expenses

attributable to the performing arts of

more than 10% of gross income from

the performing arts, and

4. Had adjusted gross income of

$16,000 or less before deducting

expenses as a performing artist.

Paperwork Reduction Act Notice. We

ask for the information on this form to

carry out the Internal Revenue laws of

the United States. You are required to

give us the information. We need it to

ensure that you are complying with

these laws and to allow us to figure and

collect the right amount of tax.

The average time and expenses

required to complete and file this form

will vary depending on individual

circumstances. For the estimated

averages, see the instructions for your

income tax return.

You are not required to provide the

information requested on a form that is

subject to the Paperwork Reduction Act

unless the form displays a valid OMB

control number. Books or records

relating to a form or its instructions must

be retained as long as their contents

may become material in the

administration of any Internal Revenue

law. Generally, tax returns and return

information are confidential, as required

by section 6103.

If you have suggestions for making

this form simpler, we would be happy to

hear from you. See the instructions for

your income tax return.

If you qualify, include the part of the

line 6 amount attributable to expenses

you incurred for services performed in

that job in the total on Form 1040, line

24, and attach Form 2106-EZ to your

return. These employee business

expenses are deductible whether or not

you itemize deductions. Enter the

remaining expenses from line 6 on

Schedule A (Form 1040), line 20.

Qualified performing artist. You are

a qualified performing artist if you:

1. Performed services in the

performing arts as an employee for at

least two employers during the tax year,

Fee-basis state or local government

official. You are a qualifying fee-basis

official if you are employed by a state or

political subdivision of a state and are

compensated, in whole or part, on a fee

basis.

In addition, if you are married, you

must file a joint return unless you lived

apart from your spouse for all of 2006. If

you file a joint return, you must figure

requirements (1), (2), and (3) separately

for both you and your spouse. However,

requirement (4) applies to the combined

adjusted gross income of both you and

your spouse.

If you qualify, enter the part of the line

6 amount attributable to

impairment-related work expenses on

Schedule A (Form 1040), line 27 (or on

Schedule A (Form 1040NR), line 16).

These expenses are not subject to the

2% limit that applies to most other

employee business expenses. Enter the

remaining expenses from line 6 on

Schedule A (Form 1040), line 20 (or on

Schedule A (Form 1040NR), line 9).

If you qualify, include the part of the

line 6 amount attributable to the

expenses for travel more than 100 miles

away from home in connection with your

performance of services as a member of

the reserves on Form 1040, line 24, and

attach Form 2106-EZ to your return.

These reservist-related travel expenses

are deductible whether or not you

itemize deductions. Enter the remaining

expenses from line 6 on Schedule A

(Form 1040), line 20. See Pub. 463 for

more information.

If you meet all of the above

requirements, include the part of the line

6 amount attributable to

performing-arts-related expenses in the

total on Form 1040, line 24 (or on Form

1040NR, line 34), and attach Form

2106-EZ to your return. These

performing-arts-related business

expenses are deductible whether or not

you itemize deductions. Enter the

remaining expenses from line 6 on

Schedule A (Form 1040), line 20 (or on

Schedule A (Form 1040NR), line 9).

Armed Forces reservist (member of

a reserve component). You are a

member of a reserve component of the

Armed Forces of the United States if you

are in the Army, Naval, Marine Corps, Air

Force, or Coast Guard Reserve, the

Army National Guard of the United

States, the Air National Guard of the

United States, or the Reserve Corps of

the Public Health Service.

See Pub. 463 for details on how to

figure your deduction using the standard

meal allowance, including special rules

for partial days of travel and for

transportation workers.

Line 6. If you are one of the individuals

discussed below, special rules apply to

deducting your employee business

expenses.

Ministers. Before entering your total

expenses on line 6, you must reduce

them by the amount allocable to your

tax-free allowance(s). See Pub. 517 for

more information.

Line 8b. If you do not know the total

actual miles you used your vehicle for

commuting during the year, figure the