Congress quietly restores employee tax deduction—but only for 3 years
H.R. 1691 — Employee Business Expense Deduction Reinstatement Act of 2025 · Filed by Glenn Grothman (R-WI) · 1 cosponsor · Introduced Feb 27, 2025 · Referred to committee
Your members of Congress
Enter a ZIP to see where your representative and both senators stood on this bill.
Looked up on this device — your ZIP is never stored on our servers.
What it does
This bill restores a tax deduction for employees' unreimbursed business expenses (food, lodging, travel, transportation) that was eliminated by the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act. For tax years 2025–2027, employees can deduct 85% of these expenses as miscellaneous itemized deductions, subject to a 1% floor instead of the normal 2% floor. The bill also allows taxpayers to claim refunds for overpayments from prior years if they would have qualified under this restored deduction.
Why we flagged it
The bill's sole function is to restore a specific tax deduction (unreimbursed employee business expenses) that was eliminated by prior legislation, with a temporary 3-year window and a partial allowance (85% of expenses).
What the text implies
- The 85% deduction cap (rather than 100%) means employees bear 15% of qualifying expenses as a permanent tax cost, even during the 3-year window.
- The 1% floor (vs. the normal 2%) is more favorable but still requires total miscellaneous deductions to exceed 1% of adjusted gross income before any deduction is allowed.
The full analysis lists 4 implications of this text.
Who stands to gain
Individual employees with unreimbursed business expenses; Self-employed individuals (if they qualify as employees under the provision)