7 wacky tax deductions to avoid in 2017 if you want to dodge a tax audit
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Did you hear the one about the deductible rider mower for real estate agents? Or the campaign promise exclusion? Or the medical write-off for man’s oldest “therapeutic” treatment?
That’s right, tax enthusiasts — it’s time for the 11th annual installment of Bankrate’s wackiest tax tales, our salute to the ingenious ways that otherwise law-abiding citizens dream up to butter-coat their deductions and cook their books.
Over the years, taxpayers have attempted to write off everything from a sperm donation to dance lessons. One guy sought to deduct his new Rolex as a “time monitoring system.” Another inadvertently claimed New York City as a dependent. And that doesn’t even include the dozens of ways that would-be tax shirkers have concocted to deduct their pets!
Be forewarned: The Internal Revenue Service won’t see the humor should you fail to file, falsely file, knowingly underreport or attempt to slip “alternative facts” into your federal income tax return.
Read on for Bankrate’s seven wacky tax deductions, 2017 edition.
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