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It's tax time, and every year I think to myself that I should be deducting everything. Really. All my income comes from freelance writing, and since there's almost nothing in my life that I don't write about, maybe I can deduct everything.
After years of thinking I should do this but not really doing it, I finally took action. I talked about my deduction plan with Anne-Marie Fisher, director of tax services for CBIZ.
Here's a transcript of our conversation:
Me: "I spent a lot of money on expensive eye cream so that I looked good for my Yahoo! photo. Can I deduct that?"
Anne: "They don't like cosmetics or clothing that they say you could use outside of your article."
Me: "But I wouldn't have had to look that good if I didn't take the photo."
Anne: "But you looked good after the photo. The IRS is really tough on things that help your appearance."
Me: "What if the cream made me look bad?"
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I love this! As a self-employed person for years and years, it seems to me that just about every breath I take is related to finding a way to supporting my family. This is as funny as get-out, and a good picture of the hapless individual up against the bureaucratic wall of the Institution. What a hoot!
Posted by Michael Holley Smith on 03/01/2007 at 09:44am | permalink | Reply to this comment
I'm going to share your column with the CPAs in my office. I suspect that they're going to get a kick out of it!
Posted by Lea on 03/01/2007 at 10:31am | permalink | Reply to this comment
Funny! Next time you have a photo op, coordinate it with a spa appointment :) See if that flies.
Posted by gr8flgrl on 03/01/2007 at 11:48am | permalink | Reply to this comment
yeah, what if?
Posted by patti on 03/01/2007 at 12:31pm | permalink | Reply to this comment
" Me: “What if the cream made me look bad?” '
I'm busting a gut! Just found your site (from Rick T.'s link!) – the wealth of information and original content you have on here is incredible – to say the least!
Thank you for sharing your fantastic gift with 'the world' :)
Peace,
~Ankakay
Posted by Ankakay on 03/01/2007 at 01:23pm | permalink | Reply to this comment
Nice piece. I've been keeping track of the money we spend on wine for WineLog.net. We'll see if it flies with our accountant come tax time.
His argument: "…but you still have a buzz after you review the wine."
My argument: "But a wine buzz is not necessarily a good thing."
Posted by Jason Coleman on 03/02/2007 at 02:14pm | permalink | Reply to this comment
Vegetable oil and shortening, by contrast, are 100% fat and don’t present the same potential for sticking. So, the best way to grease a pan is to use shortening or vegetable oil (either poured into the pan or sprayed) and spread it around into all the corners to ensure that every inch is covered.
Posted by matchmaker on 01/17/2010 at 03:28am | permalink | Reply to this comment