17 Ridiculous Tax Loopholes

BREAST AUGMENTATION EQUALS REDUCTION

More and more people have been questioning the U.S. Tax Center at IRS.com about whether breast implants qualify as a tax deduction. For most people, it won’t work, but it did for Chesty Love, a stripper and exotic dancer.

The IRS denied the deduction at first, but she ended up winning in tax court. Before you think of following in her footsteps, however, know that to qualify, the surgery has to be both required for employment as well as “unsuitable for everyday use.” Love’s implants were size 56N.

 

CAT FOOD CALCULATION

Having a business reason for an expense can make lots of things tax deductible. In this case, a junkyard owner set out cat food to attract feral cats to the property. Once there, the cats also ate rats and snakes providing a benefit to the business.

Unfortunately, you won’t be able to deduct cat food for the family pet even if you have a home-based business because, to qualify, the cat has to be exclusively for the benefit of the business.

 

VIVA LAS VEGAS TAX DEDUCTION

As long as you won money on the same trip you experienced gambling losses, the IRS allows tax deductions for gambling, but only up to the amount of your winnings. To take this deduction, you’ll have to itemize your tax filing. Additionally, you’ll have to keep records, including where and when you gambled and the amounts you won or lost.

To take this tax loophole even further, you’ll need to go pro. Professional gamblers get to deduct not only their actual gambling losses but the reasonable cost of expenses that go with trying to earn gambling income. That means a suite at Caesar’s Palace and a trip to the Bacchanal Buffet can be deducted as well.

You can’t just say you’re a pro gambler, though, you need to prove it with the same kind of documentation a regular business would have including receipts, business plans and profit and loss statements.