Tax Update Blog: Permalink

« Previous · Tax Update Blog Home · Next »

IT'S NO GOOD, BUT YOU CAN GET IT IN LARGE QUANTITIES

March 06, 2006

Professor Maule is unhappy with some "tax advice" from Costco:

The February 2006 issue of "Costco Connection" has a tax-savings article in which the author, Howard Scott, in a paragraph headed "Seek out other expenses" writes: "Do you incur personal grooming expenses because image is important?"

There is no such deduction. There is a long list of cases denying deductions for personal grooming, no matter the connection it might have to the conduct of a trade or business. For example, in Thomas v. Comr., T.C. Memo 1981-348, the Tax Court wrote: "Whether or not petitioner was required as a condition to her employment to be neatly coiffed, the expenses she incurred for this purpose are inherently personal in nature and cannot be considered as business expenses."

If there were a deduction for personal grooming, any accountant claiming it would be doomed on audit...

      Bookmark: del.icio.us • Digg • reddit