Originally Posted by
MikeF16
I am not a CPA but if you buy a computer for work I am fairly certain you can write it off as a business expense. All the captains I talk to with the high priced accountants say they write off items such as their phone and monthly cell bill, so I don't see how this is different. That said, if money is tight just buddy up with somebody in class and borrow their computer, or do it at home over the weekend (assuming you have a pc). I personally already had a laptop so it wasn't an issue, but I think you could work around it.
The computer is definitely a write-off for the portion you can justify as purchased for business use. Same as for mobile phone. I am writing off 100% of the laptop, and 50% of my mobile phone bills for 2014, because I think I can very easily justify that.
Even though audits are rarer than before, just realize that if you are transitioning to a new career, moving, retiring from mil, etc, you are doing a lot of "out of the ordinary" things that make you a higher risk for it. Definitely claim everything for which you're eligible, but document, document, document.