Most Outrageous Tax Deductions

On the eve of tax day, many are looking for as many deductions as they can find, whether they be charitable donations or deductions for health care.  Check out some rather outrageous tax deductions that work and some that don’t.

– A man tried to deduct pay to his girlfriend for buying furniture, overseeing repairs and running his home.  The tax court let him deduct $2,500 of the $9,000 he paid her.

– A couple who owned a junk yard deducted the cost of cat food, claiming the food attracted ferrel cats.  The cats acted as pest control, killing mice and snakes, making the junk yard safer for customers.

– If you’re changing jobs, you can deduct all your moving expenses– including the cost of moving your 4-legged friend.

– If you want to travel to an exotic location, and want to be able to claim it on your taxes, schedule a few business meeting while you’re there.  The trip would be considered a business trip.

– A pro body builder was allowed to claim a deduction on body oil, claiming the oil was a business expense.

– If you’re planning to help out at a charitable event and need a baby sitter, the entire fee you pay the sitter is tax deductible.

– Stripper “Chesty Love” (yes, that’s her legal name) was allowed to deduct the cost of her breast augmentation.  She enhanced her chest size to 56-FF and claimed the twins were a stage prop, and therefore a business expense.

– If you operate a home office, you may be able to deduct a portion of your landscaping expenses.

– A gas station offered free beer in lieu of fuel stamps.  The cost of the donated beer was tax deductible.

– A man with emphysema was told by his doctor to start exercising.  The man had an in-ground pool installed and claimed the cost of the pool, the pool’s chemicals, the extra liability insurance, maintenance and the extra energy cost of heating the pool as deductions.  The tax deduction was allowed as a medical expense, because it was prescribed by a doctor.

According to An Intuit Blog, these Five Brazen, Deductions Failed:

1) A home-office deduction for drug dealing  In 1981, a Minneapolis drug dealer who sold substantial volumes of marijuana, cocaine, and amphetamines was arrested. He was later audited and owed $17,000 in back taxes from drug earnings that were never reported to the IRS. “The dealer appealed the audit, claiming that the IRS did not consider his tax-deductible costs incurred in running a business. He won the audit for a home office deduction, but still went to prison.”

2) Buffalo meat  The  professional bodybuilder who was allowed to wrote off the cost of body oil to make his muscles glisten in competition, also tried to writer off other expenses, such as vitamins, supplements and buffalo meat.  Those deductions were denied.

3) Arsonist payments A furniture store owner had been trying to sell his business for several years.  Fed up with trying to unload the business, he paid someone $10,000 to set the building on fire.  He collected $500,000 in insurance money.  He might have gotten away with the crime if he hadn’t tried to deduct the payment to the arsonist as a “consulting fee.” The IRS audited the man and the arsonist and sent them both to jail.

 Happy tax day!