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FAQ: Are parking tickets ever deductible as a cost of doing business?
No, parking tickets are not deductible. Internal Revenue Code Sec.
162 (a) provides that no deduction is allowed for fines or penalties
paid to a government (U.S. or foreign, federal or local). While many
delivery businesses consider parking tickets as a cost of doing business
and more akin to an occasional "rental" payment for a place to park, a
parking ticket is a fine and, as such, it is not deductible. By
definition, parking tickets are civil penalties imposed by state or
local law. The Tax Court decided that parking tickets are not business
deductions way back in 1975 in a case dealing with a taxpayer that was
trying to deduct as a business expense some parking tickets, among other
things. The court allowed the other deductions but did not allow the
parking tickets, citing Code Sec. 162.
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