For the final "class of my schooling, I was expected to do an internship. I chose a site in New York (I live in Seattle). Due to taking this particular internship, I was forced to pay rent for my home in Seattle as well as find a rental in New York. It was a 6 week internship and it was unpaid. Am I able to deduct my airfare and the rent paid in New York from my taxes? Are there any other expenses incurred from this that are also deductible? My NY subway card, perhaps?

Also, is it possible to deduct these things on a basic 1040 without doing itemized deductions? How would I go about doing this?

“ It was a 6 week internship and it was unpaid. Am I able to deduct my airfare and the rent paid in New York from my taxes?”========>No I dnon’t think so.As an intern who has unpaid internships, you are not allowed to deduct these items as biz expenses; on the other hand, you, as an unpaid intern, may deduct some of your expenses as education expenses. This includes some of the miles you put on your car. As an unpaid intern, you may not take straight business deductions for your internship. However, because your internship is part of your educational experience, you may count expenses that you incur as an intern as business expenses for a work-related education. A student who wants to write off mileage and other expenses from an unpaid internship must do so by filing IRS form 1040 Sch A. The IRS announces what the standard mileage deduction is each year. As of September 2012, the standard mileage deduction for business and education expenses was 55.5 cents per mile. This means that an intern can deduct any of the travel expenses incurred going between work and school. The intern may not deduct mileage incurred going between home and work. As an unpaid intern who is eligible to deduct mileage must keep track of the miles you drive and have documentation of these miles. You may need to show this documentation in the event of an audit. The document on which syou keep track of your mileage should include the total deductible miles you drive. The document also should show the times and dates you drive and the locations to which you travel.ALSO, as the internship is not full time and you continues to attend school,you may continue to deduct costs for tuition, books and other expenses as needed for your education. Because your internship is part of your education, anything that you must buy to complete your internship may be counted as education expenses. This includes items like notebooks, paper, pens, office supplies, computers and other related items.



“ Are there any other expenses incurred from this that are also deductible? My NY subway card, perhaps?”=======>As described above.

“Also, is it possible to deduct these things on a basic 1040 without doing itemized deductions? How would I go about doing this?”==>As said above, if you are subject to it then you can deduct it on Sch A line 21 subject to 2% of AGI.

I was working there well over full time, and not attending school at the same time. But tje internship counted as a class. I didn't drive, it was airfare to get to new York that I was wondering about. Does that change anything?

“I was working there well over full time, and not attending school at the same time. But tje internship counted as a class. I didn't drive, it was airfare to get to new York that I was wondering about. Does that change anything?”==========> It seems that without a 1099 or w-2 from the company the person doing the internship is inelgible for any type of tax break for the cost she spent to participate in this unpaid internship. The best chance for you to claim a deduction would be as an educational expense. As an unpaid intern, you may not take straight business deductions for your internship. However, because your internship is part of your educational experience, you may count expenses that you incur as an intern as business expenses for a work-related education. As said, a student who wants to write off mileage and other expenses from an unpaid internship must do so by filing IRS form 1040 Sch A. AS LONG AS the internship is NOT full time and you continue to attend school, you may continue to deduct costs for tuition, books and other expenses as needed for your education. Because your internship is part of your education, anything that you must buy to complete your internship may be counted as education expenses. This includes items like notebooks, paper, pens, office supplies, computers and other related items. I guess yu need to contact the IRS for more info in detail.