Some of these "wild" deductions being proposed don't seem so wild to me, and I have prepared tax return for over 30 years. The one about the swimming pool for example. If swimming is prescribed by the individual's doctor specifically and a health club or other pool is not available, the tax code will allow that as a medical deduction to the extent that the cost is greater than the increase in value to the property. So the full cost is not deductible in any regard. But I have a better one. A taxpayer I heard of once wanted to deduct a "mission trip" to Japan as a charitable contribution. Further discussion found that the main purpose of the trip was to play Judo. When asked how much time would be spent in so-called mission activities, the answer was zero. And I believe this trip was being planned by a minister, who had given them the tax advice. One would surmise that in matters of tax it is better to listen to your CPA than your minister.

dwirkus is correct and so is the farmer; not all guard dogs are Rottweilers, Dobermans, or German Shepherds. I think the most unusual deduction I ever saw was an individual that had a prescription issued during prohibition for "medicinal alcohol". After prohibition ended, he still continued to deduct his liquor under medicine on the tax return. Don't forget that face lifts used to be deductible too. Betty Ford, former first lady, wanted one so they slipped it into the law for a few years so she could get it and write it off. The general public has no idea what is allowed under the law.

Why not, with all the tax breaks businesses and corporations get from our government, it's only right for the working class folks to try and get a piece of the good life.

Some folks even think multi million dollar paychecks , private jets, yachts and personal assistants are tax deductable! What a joke!

Oh wait, they are.

I like the one about the poodle!

I thought these would be funny, but instead I find myself being able to see a good justification for all of them. Would anyone question the barn guard dog if it was a German Shepherd instead of a toy poodle? Those toy poodles are pretty barky, it might actually work. A pianist might need fingernails to be maintained at a specific length in order to play well --it could be necessar And the swimming pool point has already been made. Instead of proving that CPAs can save you from the IRS, this article might be prove that CPAs will talk you out of deductions that could be justified.

The writer may want to do some research - a pool can be deductable as a medical expense under some circumstances with some limitations. I've done it.

I can also think of reasons why all of these deductions might be OK in some circumstances, but that's the key: you've got to be able to PROVE that your case fits the allowable circumstances. For example, a toy poodle COULD be used as a guard dog...but if it sleeps in the house and gets regular trips to the groomer, no one is going to believe it's a working guard dog. Similarly, a pool could be deducted if a doctor provides evidence that it is necessary medical therapy, but the person mentioned in this article may have just heard that his friend's cousin's neighbor's sister deducted one, and figured he might as well try it. It sounds like the MNCPA wasn't really trying to be funny, they were trying to warn people that you can get yourself into big trouble if you don't have good proof to support your claims.

Poodles we're initially bred as hunting dogs, so there's that.

I can totally see situations where these write offs would be legitimate.