Is anybody deducting their hidden button camera shirts on their taxes as special work clothing. I'm not an accountant but the IRS rule is that clothing you can wear on an everyday basis when not at work can't be deducted. Thoughts?

My personal opinion is that would be a "required purchase" in order to complete the job. I wouldn't hesitate to deduct it. I would also be certain to never wear it when I wasn't on the job!

Please note, my personal opinion isn't worth the paper it's written on, and this isn't even paper...

Many places you actually go into for work like in an office have clothing rules. But unless it is something unusual like a special type of boot or shoe that is not regular clothing everyone might wear it is not deductible. I have no idea what sort of button shirt you need but if it is only a shirt with buttons I would consider it regular clothing. I also look for shirts with a pocket large enough to hold my voice recorder. It is difficult to find these in women's clothing especially if the pocket is just over my female anatomy that makes a bump. But still those shirts are out there in regular clothing stores. I have never thought of deducting these.
On the other hand you probably will not get audited or caught for a small deduction of any sort...Just my opinion of course.

You usually cut off one of the buttons, so it wouldn't be something you normally wear on an everyday basis.

I "think" you may take the deduction.

@millieal wrote:

Is anybody deducting their hidden button camera shirts on their taxes as special work clothing. I'm not an accountant but the IRS rule is that clothing you can wear on an everyday basis when not at work can't be deducted. Thoughts?

Unfortunately, with the button cams, it's not just removing a button, it's removing a button and modifying the shirt so that you can put a button cam through both layers of the shirt in place of the button. It makes the shirt more difficult to use as a regular clothing item. And for all intents and purposes, the shirt has only one use after it is modified, and that is for mystery shopping with the video equipment and the button cam. When I was doing video shopping years ago, I had a really pretty purple shirt; button down blouse with dark purple buttons. Because my disguise kit didn't come with any colored buttons, and I suspect the purple wouldn't be one of the colors anyway, I changed all of the buttons to black to match the button On the camera. I made a button hole behind the button hole for the button camera to go through, then I took a big button about twice the size of the button that belonged to the shirt,I put a piece of cardstock between the buttons, then sewed them together.. When I wanted to wear the shirt when I wasn't working, I would put this button, with the card stock from the inside and buttoned up like a regular shirt so I still I could still wear if I wanted to.

I never claimed the shirt or any of the expenses involved with modifying the shirt on my taxes because I bought the shirt on clearance for $3, and I had all of the thread and the buttons already at home in my sewing cabinet.

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 06/05/2022 06:43PM by Morledzep.