24-07-2010, 16:37
Are boob jobs dedectible?
July 4 2006 at 11:06 AM Linda (no login)
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Okay an older friend of mine used to be a dancer and when she got her boob job she was allowed to deduct it. What is the law now? Someone told me it was different now and it wouldn't be allowed these days. Can we deduct or not? People who know the tax scene please reply, dancers need to know all the implications of boob jobs.
Author Reply
Melonie
(no login) Re: Are boob jobs dedectible? September 24 2006, 8:51 AM
... several years ago, congress passed legislation which declared 'elective surgeries' as non-deductible because they are not medically necessary and because they are for 'personal' benefit. As a result, this rendered breast implants non-deductible for dancers as well as for every other American woman. However, one dancer who went by the stage name of Chesty Love appealed this point in Tax court. She successfully made the case that large breast implants are not personally beneficial (and in fact they can have very negative effects on a girl's personal life). She successfully argued that the only reason that a dancer would want to get large breast implants would be to improve her earning power, a legitimate business reason. As a result of the IRS Letter Ruling which followed (IRS vs. Cynthia Hess) it is again possible for dancers to deduct breast implants ... provided that they are over 1000cc in size. Implants smaller than 1000cc, which are available to any housewife, are considered to not have negative personal effects and to not have major positive effects on business income, and are therefore not tax deductible.
I'm told that other deductions such as costumes, shoes, makeup, tanning, hair etc. are subject to a similar "housewife test" in order to qualify as deductible. As long as the item isn't something that your average housewife would also wear or do, it's OK to deduct it. An example would be that a revealing spandex dress and 6" heels would be deductible while a bikini and sandals would not, even though both might be worn onstage. Similarly, theatrical makeup would be deductible while WalMart eye shadow would not. I'm not sure how tanning and hair deductions would fly - probably OK if they are frequent and regular like clockwork.
July 4 2006 at 11:06 AM Linda (no login)
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Okay an older friend of mine used to be a dancer and when she got her boob job she was allowed to deduct it. What is the law now? Someone told me it was different now and it wouldn't be allowed these days. Can we deduct or not? People who know the tax scene please reply, dancers need to know all the implications of boob jobs.
Author Reply
Melonie
(no login) Re: Are boob jobs dedectible? September 24 2006, 8:51 AM
... several years ago, congress passed legislation which declared 'elective surgeries' as non-deductible because they are not medically necessary and because they are for 'personal' benefit. As a result, this rendered breast implants non-deductible for dancers as well as for every other American woman. However, one dancer who went by the stage name of Chesty Love appealed this point in Tax court. She successfully made the case that large breast implants are not personally beneficial (and in fact they can have very negative effects on a girl's personal life). She successfully argued that the only reason that a dancer would want to get large breast implants would be to improve her earning power, a legitimate business reason. As a result of the IRS Letter Ruling which followed (IRS vs. Cynthia Hess) it is again possible for dancers to deduct breast implants ... provided that they are over 1000cc in size. Implants smaller than 1000cc, which are available to any housewife, are considered to not have negative personal effects and to not have major positive effects on business income, and are therefore not tax deductible.
I'm told that other deductions such as costumes, shoes, makeup, tanning, hair etc. are subject to a similar "housewife test" in order to qualify as deductible. As long as the item isn't something that your average housewife would also wear or do, it's OK to deduct it. An example would be that a revealing spandex dress and 6" heels would be deductible while a bikini and sandals would not, even though both might be worn onstage. Similarly, theatrical makeup would be deductible while WalMart eye shadow would not. I'm not sure how tanning and hair deductions would fly - probably OK if they are frequent and regular like clockwork.