But on the flip side, they've also affirmed some deductions. The US Tax Court has repeatedly ruled against the ability to write off grooming expenses at tax time. The guidelines above don’t come from thin air.

The key court cases about personal appearance deductions We’ll talk about each of these categories in detail later! Under some circumstances, though, they can count as business expenses. That means, in most cases, these expenses aren't tax-deductible. The IRS typically considers the following purchases personal expenses - not business expenses:

(After the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2018, employees can no longer claim business-related expenses.) Self-employed people - including freelancers, independent contractors, and small business owners - can sometimes write off the cost of maintaining their appearance. Can maintaining your appearance be tax-deductible?