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Issue 1. Uniforms
Petitioner claimed $2,400 as a miscellaneous deduction for
the cost of his work shoes and nurse's uniforms.2
Section 162(a) allows a deduction for the ordinary and
necessary expenses paid or incurred during the taxable year in
carrying on any trade or business. Whether an expenditure is
ordinary and necessary is a question of fact. See Commissioner
v. Heininger, 320 U.S. 467, 475 (1943). However, no deduction
shall be allowed for personal, living, or family expenses. See
sec. 262.
The cost of acquisition and maintenance of uniforms is
deductible generally if (1) the clothing is of a type
specifically required as a condition of employment, (2) it is not
adaptable to general usage, and (3) it is not so worn. See
Yeomans v. Commissioner, 30 T.C. 757, 767 (1958).
While we do not doubt that nurse's uniforms and shoes may be
deductible, see, e.g., Harsaghy v. Commissioner, 2 T.C. 484
(1943); Meier v. Commissioner, 2 T.C. 458 (1943), petitioner
provided scant evidence that he actually spent $2,400 on uniforms
2Petitioner claimed $2,850 as the total cost of shoes,
uniforms, and union dues. Respondent agrees that petitioner paid
a total of $450 for union dues. Thus, the difference between
these amounts is equal to the cost petitioner claimed for the
acquisition and maintenance of his work shoes and uniforms.
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