Scrubs are tax deductible only if you’re self-employed. If you’re a W-2 employee — a staff nurse, tech, hygienist, or aide on a hospital or practice payroll — the federal deduction for unreimbursed uniform costs was suspended in 2018 and permanently repealed by legislation signed in mid-2025. Independent contractors and sole proprietors in healthcare can still write scrubs off as an ordinary business expense on Schedule C, which reduces income tax and self-employment tax at the same time. A handful of states let employees claim the deduction on their state return even though the federal one is gone.
The Uniform Test Scrubs Have to Pass
Before classification even matters, the clothing itself has to qualify. The IRS applies two tests to any work clothing: it must be required for the job, and it must not be suitable for everyday wear. Business suits, khakis, and sneakers fail the second test because you could plausibly wear them off the clock, so they never qualify no matter how strictly your employer requires them.
Standard medical scrubs generally clear both hurdles. They’re required by employer or facility policy, and few people wear them socially. Items worn underneath — undershirts, socks, regular pants — don’t qualify, because they’re ordinary clothing regardless of where you put them on.
When scrubs do qualify, related upkeep rides along: professional laundering, dry cleaning, alterations, and embroidery of a practice name all count. Home laundering can be included too, but only with a defensible calculation of the utility share.
Why W-2 Employees Can’t Deduct Scrubs Anymore
Before 2018, employees could deduct unreimbursed work expenses, including uniforms, as a miscellaneous itemized deduction on Schedule A, subject to a 2%-of-AGI floor. The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act suspended that whole category starting in 2018, originally through the end of 2025. A lot of healthcare workers expected it to return in 2026.
It won’t. Reconciliation legislation signed in mid-2025 permanently repealed miscellaneous itemized deductions, including all unreimbursed employee business expenses. Even scrubs that perfectly meet the uniform definition cannot be claimed on a federal return by a W-2 employee.
A few narrow employee categories keep a limited deduction through Form 2106 — armed forces reservists, fee-basis state or local government officials, qualifying performing artists, and eligible educators. Nurses, surgical techs, and dental hygienists on a hospital payroll are not in any of those groups.1Internal Revenue Service. Publication 529 (12/2020), Miscellaneous Deductions
Getting Reimbursed by Your Employer Instead
With the federal deduction gone, employer reimbursement is the only way for an employee to recover scrub costs tax-free, and how the employer structures it matters.
Under an accountable plan, the reimbursement stays out of taxable wages and never appears in Box 1 of your W-2. Three conditions have to be met: the expense must have a business connection, you must provide documentation to your employer within 60 days, and you must return any excess reimbursement within 120 days.2Internal Revenue Service. Publication 463, Travel, Gift, and Car Expenses
If those rules aren’t met — for example, a flat uniform allowance added to your paycheck with no receipts required — the arrangement is a nonaccountable plan. That money becomes taxable wages and gets hit with income and payroll taxes. And because the employee deduction no longer exists, you can’t offset those taxes on the other side. A poorly structured reimbursement can leave you worse off than receiving nothing at all.
If your employer doesn’t currently reimburse scrubs, it’s worth asking. Reimbursements are deductible to the employer, and under an accountable plan neither side pays payroll taxes on the amount.
State Returns Sometimes Still Allow It
Federal repeal doesn’t automatically control your state return. Roughly eight states have not conformed to the federal elimination of unreimbursed employee business expenses and still allow employees to claim them at the state level. Filing mechanics vary — some states mirror the old Schedule A approach, others use their own forms.
Watch the fine print. Some decoupled states limit the deduction to the same narrow categories that still qualify federally (reservists, performing artists, fee-basis officials), which leaves healthcare workers no better off. Check your state’s current income tax instructions before assuming anything.
How the Deduction Works If You’re Self-Employed
Independent contractors, locum tenens providers, sole proprietors, and other self-employed healthcare workers are in a very different position. The permanent repeal of miscellaneous itemized deductions doesn’t touch them, because self-employed business expenses were never in that category. Scrub costs are an ordinary and necessary business expense reported directly on Schedule C.3Internal Revenue Service. Instructions for Schedule C (Form 1040), Profit or Loss From Business
“Ordinary” means common and accepted in your field; “necessary” means helpful and appropriate for the business. Medical scrubs for a self-employed healthcare provider meet both without controversy. The expense usually goes in Part V of Schedule C (Other Expenses) with a clear label like “Uniforms” or “Work clothing and laundering,” and the total flows to the main expense section.
The Effect on Self-Employment Tax and QBI
A Schedule C deduction is worth more than an equivalent itemized deduction because it reduces net business income before both income tax and self-employment tax are calculated. Self-employment tax runs 15.3%, covering Social Security at 12.4% and Medicare at 2.9%.4Internal Revenue Service. Self-Employment Tax (Social Security and Medicare Taxes) Every dollar of legitimate scrub expense saves roughly 15 cents in SE tax on top of your marginal income tax.
Lower Schedule C net income also feeds into the Section 199A Qualified Business Income deduction, which lets eligible self-employed taxpayers deduct up to 20% of qualified business income. Scrub costs alone won’t swing the number dramatically, but they’re part of the cumulative picture and can help keep you below phase-out thresholds.5Internal Revenue Service. Qualified Business Income Deduction
Home Laundering and the Home Office Overlap
If you wash scrubs at home and also claim a home office, be careful about double-counting utilities. Form 8829 already allocates a percentage of household utilities to business use based on square footage, and that allocation includes the electricity used for laundry. Deducting the same utility dollars again as a separate laundering expense on Schedule C is claiming the cost twice.
Pick one path. If you claim the home office, let Form 8829 cover the utilities and limit your separate scrub-cleaning deduction to detergent, bleach, and any professional cleaning you send out. If you don’t claim a home office, a reasonable utility allocation for scrub laundering can go directly on Schedule C. Document the method either way.
Records to Keep
The burden of proof is on you. If you claim scrubs, keep records that show the amount, date, and business purpose of each expense.
- Purchase receipts or credit card statements showing vendor, date, item, and amount for every set of scrubs.
- Receipts from dry cleaners or commercial laundries. For home laundering, a short log noting frequency and your per-load cost method.
- Alteration, repair, and embroidery receipts, labeled separately.
- A brief note confirming the scrubs are used only for work and aren’t clothing you’d wear elsewhere.
Digital records are fine. The IRS applies the same standards to electronic files as paper: the record needs to show payee, amount, date, proof of payment, and a description of what was purchased. Scanned receipts, downloaded credit card statements, and expense-app exports all qualify.6Internal Revenue Service. What Kind of Records Should I Keep
Hold records at least three years from the date you filed the return. If you later file a refund claim, keep them for three years from filing or two years from the date you paid the tax, whichever is later.7Internal Revenue Service. 8Internal Revenue Service. Accuracy-Related Penalty
The common trouble spot isn’t fraud. It’s self-employed taxpayers deducting clothing that doesn’t clearly fail the “not suitable for everyday wear” test. Athletic-style scrubs marketed to healthcare workers but also sold as loungewear sit in a gray zone. If the IRS decides your particular scrubs are adaptable to general use, the deduction is disallowed and you owe back taxes plus interest. Buying clearly medical-purpose scrubs from healthcare uniform suppliers, rather than crossover athleisure brands, keeps that risk low.