Gary Wilson - Page 17




                                       - 17 -                                         
          least twice per year; $50-$60 for coveralls each year; $2,400 per           
          year for tools; and $30 per month for union dues.                           
               With respect to the deductions for work boots and coveralls,           
          work clothing may be deductible under section 162 if the taxpayer           
          can establish that:  (1) The clothing was required or essential             
          in the taxpayer’s employment; (2) the clothing was not suitable             
          for general or personal wear; and (3) the clothing was not so               
          worn.  Yeomans v. Commissioner, 30 T.C. 757, 767-769 (1958);                
          Kozera v. Commissioner, T.C. Memo. 1986-604.                                
               The Court is satisfied that petitioner incurred expenses for           
          work boots and coveralls.  Petitioner’s credible testimony to               
          that effect, and the nature of his jobs, which included working             
          as a demolition foreman, a drilling crew foreman, and a master              
          mechanic, are satisfactory evidence to support the deductions.              
               Because petitioner’s trade was labor intensive, work boots             
          and coveralls were essential to his employment in the                       
          construction industry.  We also find that the type of boots and             
          coveralls this sort of work requires, for safety reasons, may not           
          be suitable for general or personal wear.  Accordingly, “bearing            
          heavily” on petitioner, whose “inexactitude is of his own                   
          making”, we allow a deduction of $100 for each of the tax years             
          for the cost of work boots.  Cohan v. Commissioner, 39 F.2d at              
          544.  Similarly, while petitioner testified that he spent up to             
          $60 per pair of coveralls, he had no records to substantiate that           







Page:  Previous  4  5  6  7  8  9  10  11  12  13  14  15  16  17  18  19  20  21  22  23  Next

Last modified: May 25, 2011