Trump Took $70,000 in Tax Deductions for Hair Care. Specialists Say That’s Illegal.

That seems to be roughly $1,000 an episode, on the large finish but rarely unheard-of for Hollywood stars.

The Trump Corporation also compensated Ms. Sinclair at the very least $2,500 in 2007. It’s not very clear no matter whether that had everything to do with “The Apprentice.” The grand total for 2004 to 2007: $72,243.

The tax documents do not point out specifically what solutions Ms. Sinclair executed. But in the credits on quite a few episodes of “The Apprentice,” Ms. Sinclair is listed as having styled Mr. Trump’s hair. She is also credited on some episodes with carrying out Mr. Trump’s make-up and on many others with both equally. Ms. Sinclair’s résumé states that she has also labored for superstars like Tina Fey, Paris Hilton and Steve Martin. Ms. Sinclair did not respond to a request for comment.

The federal tax code claims “personal expenses” can’t be deducted.

“There’s no way he could have legitimately deducted hair expenditures, no matter whether reimbursed or not,” stated Mr. Moore, the tax attorney. “There are lots of scenarios and audits dealing with this challenge.”

Indeed, some of individuals scenarios specifically offer with tv personalities.

In 2011, the U.S. Tax Courtroom read a circumstance involving a news anchor at the NBC affiliate in Columbus, Ohio, who deducted her hair-care expenditures on the grounds that her position required it and that she was a full-time ambassador for the station. The court flatly turned down the claim. Expenditures relevant to “grooming” are “inherently private expenses,” the court docket held, even though “these costs might be linked to her occupation.”

In 1980, the court docket issued a very similar ruling in the scenario of a Boston-area NBC newscaster, who also transpired to be a real estate trader. The court observed that his employer required him to maintain an appearance “suitable for expert services as a tv announcer,” but didn’t reimburse him for his $10 regular haircuts. So he deducted the prices. The courtroom turned down the deduction.

It is not crystal clear why Mr. Trump, who managed the very same hairstyle on established and off, would are worthy of different tax treatment. (Bills for clothing are held to a comparable test. The price of costumes and uniforms may be deductible, but if they can also be worn outside the established or place of work, like with a small business match, their price tag cannot be composed off.)