19.6 Uniforms and Work Clothes
The unreimbursed cost of uniforms and other apparel, including their cleaning, laundering, and repair, is deductible as an employee job expenses only if the clothes are:
1. Required to keep your job, and
2. Not suitable for wear when not working. A deduction is not allowed if the clothes are suitable for everyday wear, even if you only wear them at work.
The deduction is claimed on Form 2106 (or Form 2106-EZ) and then entered on Line 21 of Schedule A, where it is subject to the 2% AGI floor (19.1).
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Filing Tip
Uniform Required
Your claim of a work clothes deduction is helped if your employer requires you to wear a uniform. Uniform costs of reservists and service persons, in excess of any uniform allowance, are deductible if you are prohibited from wearing the uniform off duty.
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Special work clothes.
Courts have held that the cost of special work clothes that protect you from injury is deductible even if you are not required to wear them to keep your job. This would include safety glasses, safety boots or shoes, hard hats and work gloves.
However, you may not deduct the cost of special clothing, such as aprons and overalls, that protect your regular street clothing. Nor may you deduct the cost of ordinary clothes used as work clothes on the grounds that: (1) they get harder use than customary garments receive; (2) they are soiled after a day’s work and cannot be worn socially; or (3) they were purchased for your convenience to save wear and tear on your better clothes. For example, a sanitation inspector, a machinist’s helper, a carpenter, and a telephone repairman were not allowed to deduct the cost of their work clothes.
Employer allowance.
An allowance paid by your employer for work clothes or a uniform is not reported as income, unless you do not substantiate the expenses to your employer. If you do substantiate the expenses, those exceeding the reimbursement are reported on Form 2106, and the deduction is subject to the 2% AGI floor (20.30).
High-fashion work clothes.
That your job requires you to wear expensive clothing is not a basis for deducting the cost of the clothes if the clothing is suitable for wear off the job.
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Filing Tip
Cleaning and Laundering
If you are allowed to deduct the cost of work clothes and uniforms, you also may deduct the cost of cleaning and laundering them. Also, courts have allowed the cost of cleaning and laundering to be deducted in situations where:
- The clothes could only be worn one day at a time because they became too dirty.
- Dirty clothes were a hazard; they became baggy and might have gotten caught in machinery.
- Clothes were worn only at work and a place for changing clothes was provided by the employer.
- A meat cutter had to wear clean work clothes at all times.
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EXAMPLE
A television news anchor was not allowed a deduction for her costs of business wear that complied with station guidelines for women, as well as for contact lenses, makeup, manicures, teeth whitening, and skin care expenses that she claimed were necessary for her on-air appearances. She argued before the Tax Court that she considered her wardrobe to be a deductible business expense because she would not have bought the clothes if she did not have to wear them for work, and she in fact did not wear the clothing when away from work.
However, the Tax Court agreed with the IRS that even if the news anchor did not wear the wardrobe off the job, it was suitable for everyday wear and so the clothing, shoes, accessories and dry-cleaning costs were nondeductible personal expenses. Her manicures, haircuts, teeth whitening, and skin care were also personal and not business expenses, and without proof that she had to buy special contact lenses to read the teleprompter when on the air, so were her contact lens costs.
To add insult to injury, the Tax Court agreed with the IRS’s imposition of a 20% negligence penalty. The Court rejected the taxpayer’s claim that she acted in good faith and with reasonable cause in claiming the business deductions. The restrictions on work clothes deductions are well settled despite the seeming business connection.
Deductions allowed.
Deductions for costs of uniforms and work clothes have been allowed to:
Airline pilot
Bakery salesperson—for a uniform with a company label
Baseball player
Bus driver
Cement finisher for gloves, overshoes, and rubber boots
Civilian faculty members of a military school
Commercial fisherman for protective clothing, such as oil cloths, gloves, and boots
Dairy worker for rubber boots, white shirts, trousers, and cap worn only while inside the dairy
Entertainer for theatrical clothing used solely for performances
Exotic dancer for breast implants used as a “stage prop” essential to her business; see Example 7 below (19.9)
Factory foreman for white coat bearing the word “foreman” and the name of the company
Factory worker for safety shoes
Firefighter
Hospital attendant for work clothes; he came in contact with patients having contagious diseases
Jockey
Letter carrier
Meat cutter for special white shoes
Musician for formal wear
Paint machine operator for high top shoes and long leather gloves
Plumber for special shoes and gloves
Police officer
Railroad conductor
Railroad firefighter for boots, leather gloves, raincoat, caps, and work gloves
EXAMPLES
1. A painter may not deduct the cost of work clothing consisting of a white cap, a white shirt, white bib overalls, and standard work shoes. The clothing is not distinctive in character as a uniform would be. That his union requires him to wear such clothing does not make it a deductible expense.
2. A tennis pro who taught at private clubs was not allowed to deduct the cost of tennis outfits or shoes required for his job. He did not wear them outside of work and argued that he replaced the shoes every few weeks to reduce the chances of injury. However, the Tax Court upheld the IRS’s disallowance of his deductions because the clothes and shoes are suitable for everyday wear; warm-up suits and tennis clothes are fashionable and frequently worn as casual wear. Furthermore, there was no evidence that his tennis shoes reduced chances of injury.
