Evening star., 1944-01-23
Your u. 5. Income Tax
This Is No. Fl of a Series.


In figuring the amount of your
salary, wages and other compensa-
ton for personal services you may
deduct any ordinary and necessary
expenses incurred in earning this
income.
If your employer or anyone else
reimburses you for your expense or
gives you travel allowance or ex-
pense account, these amounts must
be included in your wages or other
compensation.
A distinction must be made, how
ever, between expense attributable
to your employment-which can be
deducted-and personal expense,
which may not be deducted. A few
examples will illustrate:
Expenses of travel in connection
with your employment, or business,
are deductible. Such expense ordi-
narily includes transportation, meals
and lodging, but it does not include
the cost of laundry. clothes pressing
and other expenses of a nature
which would be incurred if you
stayed home.
Accounting Necessary.
Travel expense deductions, to be
allowable, must be supported when
required by the commissioner by a
statement showing % the nature
of business, (2) number of days
away from home, 60 amount of ex-
penses incident to meals and lodg-
ing, () amount of other expenses
claimed as deduction.
Expenses of salesman in enter
tanning customers for the purpose
OF getting business, including taxi
cabs, theater tickets and dinners,
telephone and telegraph messages
and the like, are deductible. How
ever, this type of expense may not be
deducted by an officer or employe of
a corporation whose contract of en-
ployment does not specifically re-
quire him to make such expendi-
lures
Expense of getting to and from
work, such has commuters fares and
bus and streetcar fares, are con-
sidered as personal expenses and are
not deductible.
A person on a rowing commission
and maintaining no permanent home
is not entitled to expenses for meals
and lodging while travelling.
In the case of shared travel, as
in a car or hotel room, the expenses
must be prorated and only the share
OF the taxpayer is deductible.
The amounts spent in seeking a
job, as well as the cost of travelling
to the place where a new job is to
be taken up, are personal expenses
and are not deductible. Fees paid
to an employment agency, however,
are deductible.
Union Dues Deductible.
Membership fees in a labor union
or in an organization which renders
a protective service to its members,
are allowable deductions.
Cost of uniforms and equipment
is deductible expense to the extent
Cd that such are specifically re-
quired, and co that they do not
take the place of ordinary clothing
in civil life. Uniforms of nurses,
railway trainmen, BARRIERS, and sur
geons are held to take the place of
ordinary clothing and their cost,
accordingly, is not deductible. Cost
OF military and naval uniforms and
related equipment, such as gold lace
and gilt buttons, is not deductible,
but the cost Of certain items. such
as corps devices, campaign bars and
the like, which are especially re-
quired by the profession, is deduct
ible.
The uniforms of baseball players
and other professional athletes are
not considered clothing adapted to
general wear, and their cost is de-
ductlble. The same also applies to
the cost of helmets, rubber coats and
rubber boots required to be pur-
chased and worn by city firemen
and the cost of rubber coats and
rubber boots required to be pur-
chased and worn by city policemen.