How to Deduct a Dress Rental for Work on Your Taxes
- 1). Assess your type of work and whether your career would support a dress rental. The rental of an evening dress for a company party or mixer is not deductible, as this would be considered ordinary street wear by the IRS. However, the cost of a period dress costume rental for a dramatic reading and the cost of theatrical clothing rentals for an acting job are considered necessary business expenses.
- 2). Assess your dress rental or rentals to determine if they could qualify as a uniform. As long as portions of the uniform could not be construed as street wear, the expenses can be a deduction. If you rent a dress, such as a period dress, to fit the dress code of your work place, it is an expense as long is it could not double as a publicly wearable dress in your off hours.
- 3). Add the totals from all of your qualifying receipts or the totals from your deduction-eligible dress rental payments.
- 4). Report your dress rental expense total on Line 21 of Schedule A of Form 1040, Itemized Deductions. Your rental total may need to be added to other unreimbursed reporting expenses that are reported on Line 21. These expenses can include union dues, job travel expenses and job education.
- 5). Report any other itemized deductions on Schedule A Form 1040. Add all of these deductions and report the total on Line 29.
- 6). Transfer your itemized deductions total from Line 29 of Schedule A to your main Form 1040, U.S. Individual Income Tax Return. Place the total on Line 40, "Itemized deductions (from Schedule A) or your standard deduction."
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