The Minnesota Society of Certified Public Accountants recently surveyed its CPA members about the most creative tax deductions proposed by their clients. Here are some of the most memorable responses from the MNCPA's annual list of strange and unacceptable tax deductions for 2012.
- A ballerina was surprised to discover that she couldn't deduct the cost of a tummy tuck.
- One woman's attempt to deduct BOTOX expenses as an "image enhancement" expense? Not a smooth move.
- Sing us a song, you're the piano man. Just don't try to claim your manicures as a business expense, as one piano player proposed.
- A farmer who tried to claim food and veterinary expenses for his toy poodle as a farm-building "guard dog" was barking up the wrong tree.
- Men may be from Mars and women from Venus, but medical expenses related to a sex-change operation are not deductible on any planet, which was news to one filer.
- One woman took a chance on deducting gambling losses as a charity donation. Mark that down as another gambling loss.
- Many reasons for deducting the cost of a swimming pool were offered—including as a medical expense—but they didn't float.
- While children/dependents are considered an acceptable deduction, one filer failed to realize that he needed to actually have children/dependents in order to claim them.
