How does a U.S. employee (exempt, W2 form) do this?
> If you qualify for itemized deductions, which you do if you have a mortgage
If you have a sufficiently large and expensive mortgage and/or are filing as an individual. Our interest almost got us over the standard deduction in the first year, but every year since then the standard deduction threshold just gets further and further away.
In theory you could do this via the UK tax system too – there’s a field on the Self Assessment forms that allows you to claim work related expenses that weren't reimbursed by your employer
One of my past employers paid a reduced mileage rate so I used to claim the difference on my tax return.
Quite how it would work for software I’m not sure though i.e. what’s the test for a permissible expense
Most companies refuse to buy the right software for the job and, like you, I'm the most effective person in my team since I can do things quickly and effectively unlike anyone else
Because it's a false economy.
I've won awards at work, became indispensable on certain projects, and have been given pay rises, choose the work I want to do, through finding the affordable right tools for the job and purchasing them.
My Jetbrains licenses are a classic example of this. I couldn't imagine refractoring code without it.
If the cost cutting stopped, I'd have more competition in the workplace.