Woburn, MA (ContentDesk) March 1, 2006 — As millions of Americans prepare their tax returns, it is important to determine what are “ordinary” and “necessary” deductions to ensure they are allowable.Just about everyone has friends, family members, or colleagues at work who are very aggressive with the tax deductions they claim. Every year, at about this time, they start telling you about all of the crazy things they deducted last year. And then they usually try to convince you that what they deducted must be okay, since the IRS never disallowed any of their deductions from last year.

Remember, everything is deductible until you get audited. So what do the rules really say about deducting your professional expenses? To be allowable, an expense must be both “ordinary” and “necessary” in connection with your profession. For example, purchasing a Palm Pilot to use for work qualifies as ordinary and necessary, and therefore, is deductible. Purchasing a leather carrying case from Coach, however, probably doesn’t qualify. Even though you may view your Coach carrying case as necessary, it most likely doesn’t meet the ordinary test.

Automobile expenses: Driving between job sites is deductible. So is driving between your home and a temporary job site, job interviews, and conferences. Commuting between your home and a regular place of business generally isn’t tax deductible.

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