As a W-2 employee, you can only deduct your cell phone bill if it's use for work is a condition of your employment, and you can only deduct that portion that amounts to greater than 2% of your adjusted gross income. If you normally just take the standard deduction, the amount of money you save by itemizing just to deduct your cell phone bill is probably much more hassle than it is worth.
If I'm not mistaken, you can only deduct any overage caused by your work. So if you have 100 minutes, and conversations with your employer make you go over and you use 150 minutes, you can deduct the expense of the overages.
That might have changed over the past few years, ask a CPA for actual tax advice.
I don't care if dispatch calls me on my personal phone. As long as it doesn't cost me anything, it doesn't bother me. If I have a work issued phone, I'd prefer they call that first, but if they need to get a hold of me, call my personal cell.
The only exception is to fill an open shift. I don't want anyone to call me for an open shift. email me, text me, I don't care, but after 5 years of working the night shift, I don't need any phone calls for shift coverage, especially after I worked the night before, or if I'm working that night.
To the OP, why would you not want them to call you? Most people don't have prepaid phones, and if dispatch is calling you on a routine basis because your radio system dies, than your agency needs to issue you a work related phone, or come up with a better solution than dispatch call you.
