How Qualified Performing Artists Deduct Theatrical Clothing on Form 2106

Actors, dancers and musicians who buy their own costumes may wonder whether those costs can be deducted. Under federal tax law, employees outside the four listed categories cannot claim unreimbursed work expenses on their returns. A narrow group, qualified performing artists, can still claim certain costs, and Publication 529 gives theatrical clothing as an example.

The rules sit in the Internal Revenue Code and in the IRS instructions for Form 2106. They set out how many employers a performer must work for, how much each must pay, how expenses compare with income, and which clothing is given as an example. The sections below cover each test, the clothing example, and a recent amendment to a neighboring provision.

Why Employees Lost Work-Expense Deductions

The IRS instructions for Form 2106 say that Section 67(h) of the Internal Revenue Code eliminated miscellaneous itemized deductions for tax years beginning after 2017. The instructions attribute the change to the termination of miscellaneous itemized deductions subject to the 2% floor.

IRS Publication 529 says taxpayers can no longer claim any miscellaneous itemized deductions unless they fall into one of the qualified categories. It refers to the 2%-of-adjusted-gross-income limitation.

The Form 2106 instructions name four categories of employees who can still use the form: Armed Forces reservists, qualified performing artists, fee-basis state or local government officials, and employees with impairment-related work expenses. The instructions say employees outside these categories may not use Form 2106.

The Employer Test
The IRS instructions for Form 2106 (2025) say a qualified performing artist must have worked as an employee for at least two employers during the tax year and received wages of $200 or more from at least two of them.

The Tests for a Qualified Performing Artist

Qualified performing artist status depends on conditions that refer to the tax year. The Form 2106 instructions introduce their list with the words “You are a qualified performing artist if you:”.

The deduction appears in 26 U.S.C. § 62(a)(2)(B), under the heading for certain expenses of performing artists. The definition of a qualified performing artist is in subsection (b)(1). The Cornell text describes it as covering expenses paid or incurred in performing services in the performing arts as an employee.

The first test concerns employment. The artist must have performed services in the performing arts as an employee for at least two employers during the year. The Form 2106 instructions add a wage threshold: the artist must have received wages of $200 or more from at least two of those employers.

The statute’s related rules apply the $200 threshold employer by employer. An employer counts only if the individual received at least $200 from it for those services during the year.

The second test compares expenses with income. The statute requires the Section 162 deductions tied to those services to exceed 10 percent of the gross income attributable to them. The form phrases it as allowable business expenses attributable to the performing arts of more than 10 percent of gross income.

The third test is an income cap. Adjusted gross income, figured without the performing-artist expenses, must not exceed $16,000. The limit is measured before the performing-artist deduction is taken. The form lists this as a fourth requirement, so its list has four items where the statute’s definition in (b)(1) has three conditions. The $200 threshold is stated in a separate sentence of the statute, outside the three conditions in (b)(1).

What the IRS Gives as an Example of Deductible Theatrical Clothing

Section 62(a)(2)(B) covers expenses that a qualified performing artist pays or incurs in connection with services in the performing arts as an employee.

IRS Publication 529 says musicians and entertainers can deduct the cost of theatrical clothing and accessories. The items must be ones that are not suitable for everyday wear. Publication 529 gives this as an example for qualified performing artists.

The publication’s uniform example concerns a different group. It describes an Army reservist who pays for uniforms and their cleaning, and it says the $250 is a miscellaneous itemized deduction that is not deductible. The two examples sit under different rules for different groups.

The publication is marked Revised December 2020. The 2025 Form 2106 instructions, last updated April 30, 2026, do not mention theatrical costumes or clothing.

Theatrical clothing is given as an example of deductible costs, but only for performers who meet the qualifying tests.

Public Law 119-111 and the Teacher Provisions

The statute note on Section 62 cites Public Law 119-111, division B, section 1, and gives its date as September 18, 2026. The amendments apply to expenses paid or incurred in taxable years beginning after December 31, 2025.

According to the same note, the law changed the heading of subsection (a)(2)(D) to refer to certain expenses of early childhood, elementary, and secondary school teachers. It also amended subparagraphs (d)(1)(A) and (B), which concern early childhood and kindergarten through grade 12 teachers and the term school.

The note does not list a change to the performing-artist deduction in (a)(2)(B) or to the qualified-performing-artist tests in (b)(1). The teacher provision and the performing-artist deduction appear in different subsections of the same statute.

The 2025 Form 2106 instructions, last updated April 30, 2026, do not mention Public Law 119-111. They cite Section 67(h) for the elimination of these deductions for tax years beginning after 2017 and do not describe a later suspension period.

Reimbursements, Records and Filing Details

Employer reimbursements affect the form. Line 7 asks for reimbursements received from an employer or third party for the expenses listed in Step 1. Amounts already reported in Form W-2, Box 1 are excluded from that line.

For employees outside the listed categories, the instructions say amounts above their expenses under a nonaccountable plan should be included as wages on Form W-2.

The two-employer and $200 wage tests come from pay for each employer. The 10 percent and $16,000 tests depend on gross income from the performing arts and on adjusted gross income. The employer, wage and adjusted gross income conditions refer to the tax year.

Married filers must file a joint return unless they lived apart from their spouse for all of 2025, according to the form instructions. On a joint return, the employer, wage and 10 percent tests are figured separately for each spouse, while the $16,000 limit applies to their combined adjusted gross income.