In the United States tax system, the two-percent haircut,[1] otherwise known as the two-percent floor, is a limitation on miscellaneous itemized income tax deductions and is codified under Internal Revenue Code IRC § 67(a).
We may be able to gauge Congress' intent with the two-percent haircut by looking at the possible reasons for including certain items.
[3] It is a possibility that Congress imposed the two-percent haircut on these expenses in order to weed out portions that may have been personal in nature, as major employee expenses are generally reimbursed by the employer anyway.
However, this policy rationale doesn't make much sense when one considers Congress' unlimited allowance of many personal expense deductions (some above-the line).
Itemized deductions are taken "below-the-line" (after adjusted gross income has been calculated).