5 Weird Tax Deductions You May Be Able to Claim

Tax season is upon us. Around this time of year, many accountants and taxpayers are scrambling, trying to figure out the smartest and most creative tax deductions.

The Internal Revenue Code is jam-packed with all sorts of tax deductions. Some taxpayers have been creative over the years and come up with some truly crazy schemes to deduct expenses on their tax returns.

Here are five of the weirdest tax deductions approved by the IRS:

1. Weight loss programs. If your doctor says that your weight is a threat to your health, then weight loss program costs could be deductible, according to the TurboTax blog. This potentially falls within the health care deduction, which says that you can deduct health care expenses above 7.5% of your adjusted gross income.


2. Breast implants. Now, don't get too excited here. Breast implants themselves aren't deductible. But what may be deductible are business-related expenses. In one notable case, an exotic dancer by the name of Chesty Love was allowed this deduction because her breast implants were "incurred solely in furtherance of the business engaged in," as the TaxProf Blog explained.


3. Swimming pools. While swimming pools generally aren't deductible, a man was once allowed this deduction because a doctor told him it would benefit his arthritis.


4. Body-building oil. The IRS allowed a part-time bodybuilder to deduct the cost of body oils as a business expense, The Fiscal Times reports. However, buffalo meat consumed by bodybuilders is not deductible, according to the IRS.


5. Rehab. Inpatient treatment and drug and alcohol rehabilitation facilities are potentially deductible. In many cases, even swankier rehab facilities can be tax deductible as health care expenses.

Keep in mind, these are only a few of the weird tax deductions that the IRS has approved. Of course, there have been even weirder deductions that were not allowed by the IRS. For example, an elderly man once tried to deduct his payments to sex workers (i.e., prostitutes) as medical expenses, showing literature that spoke to the "positive health effects of sex therapy."

Nice try, but no.

Related Resources:

• IRS Approved: 8 Crazy Tax Deductions (The Fiscal Times)
• Best Tax Deductions for Professionals (FindLaw)
• How to Deduct Coffee, Donuts as Biz Expenses (FindLaw's Free Enterprise)
• Browse Tax Lawyers by Location (FindLaw)