Tax Implications of Re-paying Bonus with Clawback?

My current firm wants to pay me a signing bonus for A2A, payable next week (so calendar year 2021). However, they are implementing a clawback on the bonus, stating that if I am no longer with the firm in June 2022, I need to pay the full bonus amount (pre-tax) back.

The issue I have is that I am in very late stage discussions with another firm on the buyside that I would like to join. If this process works out, and I join the buyside firm, I will need to pay the pre-tax bonus back, even though I'll only be direct deposited the post-tax bonus amount. Further, I would be receiving the bonus in 2021, but paying back the bonus in 2022, so two different tax years.

Based on some reading I have done, it appears that I can file a Section 162 expense item for the bonus payback in my tax return for 2022, which will allow me to reduce my taxes for 2022. Does anyone on this forum have experience with this? I just want to make sure I am not screwing myself out of a lot of money here by being forced to pay the bonus back pre-tax.

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