Or, if client with cancer, spends money on marijuana?
Actually I had one only she got it as a gift from former
students.

Our clients with severe medical problems are a constant
struggle for us between sympathy, ethics, law and common
sense.

Nan, EA in LA
Entrenched belief is never altered by the facts.....

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Harlan Lunsford wrote:

- quote -

If it were prescribed by a doctor, I'd put it under medical
expenses. For me illegal use of performance enhancing drugs
would not qualify as an "ordinary and necessary" business
expense.

If it were legal and mandated by the employer, I suppose it
might qualify as an unreimbursed employee expense. But I'd
guess that would have about a 50/50 chance of winning in
court.

Stu

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Harlan Lunsford wrote:

- quote -

There's a hilarious send-up of Wheir v. Commissioner, TC Summary
Opinion 2004-117, at http://www.rothcpa.com/archives/000567.php

Bodybuilder Wheir claimed business expenses for a special
diet of buffalo meat and nutritional supplements, as well as
for various skin lotions used in preparing for competition.

Tax Court denied the special diet as inherently personal,
but allowed the lotions, finding that the use of these
outside the pro bodybuilder scene was so limited that Wheir
won his argument on that much.

By analogy, you could argue that anabolic steroids are not
really personal-use items: aside from legitimate medical
uses, they have no real use other than among professional
and elite amateur athletes. So they may not fall into the
category of mixed-use items such as special clothing that
IRS has historically frowned upon expensing.

--
Chris Green

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And speaking of such, (like the deductibility of vitamins above;

Major league (or minor league) baseballer comes to you with
his deductions, included are steroids. Where would you
deduct them, as medical expense (assuming 7 1/2% is
irrelevant) or business expenses (assuming 2% is also
irrelevant)?

What if the client were an Olympic athelete?

Food for thought.

ChEAr$,
Harlan Lunsford, EA n LA

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