Taxes: write off competition gear?

[DesertGunner]

Anyone shoot on a departmental team and have to buy your own gear/guns/ammo, etc? I'm looking for some advice on what, if anything, can be used as a tax deduction. I'm only looking for legit advice, not any of the typical LE tax scams.

[Jonathan Doe]

What is the typical LE scams?

[SVT-40]

If you don't use it "in the line of duty" it's not deductible. Play toys don't count. Team shooting is a extra curricular activity.

Trying to deduct toys for team shooting would be a scam.

Besides don't most "police shooting" competitions involve the use of duty gear???

[oddjob]

Can't.....Got scolded by my CPA for even trying.

[DesertGunner]

What is the typical LE scams?

The usual crap you hear following one of the "you should totally get my wife/GF/brother-in-law/neighbor/guy who changes my oil to do your taxes! He/she's awesome, and used to be a CPA before the took his license for saving people too much money!" intros.

Stuff like writing off:
-Food eaten on duty
-Dry cleaning for every day's uniform
-Entire cell phone bill because you use it on duty to call your girlfriend
-Entire home Internet bill because you have paperless pay stubs and HAVE to check it online from home
-gas to drive to work
-part of your car payment, because you use your POV to drive to work

People usually get a rude awakening when they get audited.

[DesertGunner]

If you don't use it "in the line of duty" it's not deductible. Play toys don't count. Team shooting is a extra curricular activity.

Trying to deduct toys for team shooting would be a scam.

Besides don't most "police shooting" competitions involve the use of duty gear???

Duty gear doesn't work so well for PPC. And this is "on duty", just not "in the line of duty". But i get the point.

[Gryff]

Anyone shoot on a departmental team and have to buy your own gear/guns/ammo, etc? I'm looking for some advice on what, if anything, can be used as a tax deduction. I'm only looking for legit advice, not any of the typical LE tax scams.

If your job is not contingent on you doing the activity (i.e., you'll be fired if you aren't on the shooting team), then you usually cannot write off the expenses.

[oddjob]

I tried writing off my duty gun once. The CPA told me I had to depreciate the thing over a five year period then claim capital gains if I sold it. He told me it ain't worth it. I'm just glad I took his money at a poker game!!

[Realist2011]

Legitimate deductions are okay. Most of the time the CPA or tax person does not understand the business. I have written off guns and ammunition for years. I write off my dry cleaning. I have been audited, once, and they have cleared the IRS. The word is reasonable amount. My guns have been depreciated and if I sell them then it is capital gains. I currently pay 35% tax and capital gains is somewhere around 15%, I think, so that is not a problem. If I have a question regarding a deduction I ask my CPA. He will do the research before just saying no. I have told him that if I am every audited again I do not want any issues. So he will flag something if he thinks it is an issue for the IRS to review. I had Lasik surgery that was approved.

[solanoshooter]

http://www.timkelly.com/

He specializes in cops. He's the guy that writes the tax articles in PORAC. His LE deduction checklist is supposedly the gold standard. If you email him, he'll probably answer you if you wait until after tax season.

He's been doing my taxes for a few years. I'm fairly confident he would tell you most of the stuff is not deductible because it's more of an extra ciricular activity and not something you're required to do.

[fullrearview]

I hate to thread jack, but what about gym memberships??? I have many assignments that require me to be in good shape, and our department has no gym or equipment of any kind.

[Dan-0-]

You have to be able to make a reasonable argument for the deduction based on your intended use in the pursuit of profit.
If the duty gear you buy does not meet the current criteria and you buy enough of it, figure out a way to incorporate it into a business, then write it off that way.
Most CPA's are not good at giving tax deduction advice, they are mainly numbers crunchers and like to color WAY inside the lines, just to be safe. In my experience they usually don't give informed advice as far as deductions go. You need people that know the code and know how to maximize every available deduction. It takes a lot of work to find the right person and you will pay more for their services, but it can pay off big time. Most people don't realize that we pay our taxes every day. If we don't find a way to maximize our deductions on a daily basis that accumulated tax burden hits at the end of the year.
For instance most people say that you cannot deduct the miles you drive to work, right, but if your small business has a PO box near your station that you have to check the mail at every morning, then there's the deduction for your mileage to and from work. how about a run to the supermarket, can you write that off? No? Why not?
What if you are going there to buy the latest tactical gear magazine to do research for your business. Who's to say that you can't also pick up groceries while you are at it. Just get a separate receipt for the magazine, and log the miles in your journal. Supermarket trip has just been written off. Those are just examples.
If you do lectures or safety seminars on the side and have to utilize gear or give tactical firearms lectures at the shooting range and you need gear for that business, you've just found a way to write off your tactical gear purchases. If you do research for your business online at night, your computer and internet costs can be written off, your home office, home phone, maybe even that brand new safe.
There's usually a way to do something if you come at it from a different direction.
Good luck.