One year, a model submitted a pile of clothing receipts totaling $15,000 to her tax preparer.
Bernadette Schopfer, director of taxation at Maier Markey & Justic LLP, said the client really believed the clothing should be deductible and wasn't trying to cheat the system.
But Schopfer explained to her that the IRS wouldn't be sympathetic to her expensive shopping habits -- especially because clothing used for modeling can typically be worn for everyday purposes.
"None of it was deductible because you could wear it on the street," said Schopfer. "[Deductible] clothing has to be specific to your job -- like a McDonald's uniform."
To make matters worse, the client only reported $300 in income from her modeling career, which would raise yet another red flag with the IRS if she were to report such high expenses.
