22. When figuring out profits, one may first deduct expenses that were necessary for that income and only count the remainder as profit. We will now discuss what can halachically be considered an expense.
23. Day care. A woman who needs to pay to send her children to day care while she goes to work may deduct the cost from her work profits. However, if she would send her children to day care even if she wasn’t working, she may not deduct the cost of the day care (שי' שבט הלוי כת''י, מהוד''ק סי' רמ''ט א ').
24. Household expenses. Routine household expenses, such as food and drink, cleaning, and maintenance, are not considered business expenses which may be deducted, since that money would be spent in any event.
25. Travel. Money spent on commute to work may be deducted from profits (ערוה"ש סי' רמ"ט ס"ז ). If one buys a monthly travel pass [“chofshi chodshi”] that he would not have bought if not for his job, he may deduct it from his profits even if he uses it for personal travel as well.
26. Learning a profession. Money spent on learning a profession is a business expense and may be deducted from one’s profits.
