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'Creative' Deductions

Now, on to some of the more, let's just say, creative, deductions. Over the years, American taxpayers have tried just about everything and anything to avoid paying the government more money.

Super Bowl Sales Seminar

You can't blame a guy for trying? Well, if you are the IRS, you can.

Back in 1981, Danville Plywood, a Virginia company, sponsored a "Super Bowl Sales Seminar" where it flew 120 people, including customers and some employees along with their spouses and children, to New Orleans.

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They paid for airfare, hotel rooms, game tickets and even threw in an outing to the French Quarter.

The company claimed a $103,000 deduction, saying it was an advertising cost. The tax savings: $45,000. The courts ultimately found the expenses had nothing to do with Danville's business and rejected the deduction.

Tax-Free Safari?

O. Carlyle Brock, president of the Sanitary Farms Dairy in Erie, Pa., tried to write off the cost of a six-month hunting trip in Africa with his wife.

Before you call this a scam, consider this: Brock said there was a legitimate business expense.

You see, the dairy -- which bought, processed and sold milk -- ran advertising around the theme of wild animals. Customers were served game dinners at the plant, they shared films of the hunt and displayed heads and skins from hunts in their own museum for the public. They donated a tiger from the Africa trip to the Erie zoo and held a "name-the-tiger" contest. The IRS ruled the trip was a legitimate expense.

Is Laundry Deductible?

Ever think about trying to write off the cost of doing laundry, buying various bath and skin oils or even your daily shampoo? How about your gas and electric bill?

How, you ask? As medical expenses.

In 1968, Earl T. Jefferson tried to deduct all those items after his doctor suggested he sit in tubs of hot water to treat his prostatitis and that he wash his hair and scalp three times a day.

So, he said that buying all those products and heating his shower water were actually medical expenses. The IRS and, subsequently, the courts didn't agree, declaring the expenses to be personal, living and family expenses and, therefore, nondeductible.

Nice try.