Tax Deductions You Won't Believe While Americans are entitled to take every legitimate deduction to manage their taxes, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) places limits on your creativity. Here are some examples of deductions from the IRS that were permitted and some that were, well, too creative.¹ Creative Deductions that Passed Muster Usually a child’s school-related costs are not deductible. However, one taxpayer was allowed to deduct the cost of travel, room, and board as a medical expense for sending a child with respiratory problems to a school in Arizona. Pet food typically doesn’t qualify as a write-off, except in the case where a business owner successfully argued that it was a legitimate expense to feed a cat protecting their inventory from vermin. Does your child have an overbite? If so, you may find that the IRS is okay with a medical deduction for the cost of a clarinet (and lessons) to correct it. A deduction for a swimming pool won’t float with the IRS, exc