Can A Handgun Be Considered A Business Expense?

[Austin Works]

I am considering purchasing a small handgun for protection when going to look at properties in unfamiliar areas. Is this something I can write off at tax time as a business expense?

[Logan Allec]

I'd say no, a handgun would not be ordinary and necessary to your real estate business (assuming you have a real estate business).  The discussion on page 6 of  is interesting.  I'm not saying this case is in any way applicable to your situation, but I am rather just providing it as information so you can see what a Tax Court judge thought about an argument similar to yours.

Excerpt (emphasis mine)

3. Claimed Depreciation of Guns and Deduction of Ammunition Expense

Petitioner, who was interested in collecting guns, purchased two pistols in 1972 for $194 and deducted the amount as a business expense. In 1973 he bought eight guns for $1,491. Four of these were on display in his apartment. He claimed that the other four were used for personal protection at his office and in his car, and therefore deducted their cost as a business expense. An unsolved murder had occurred in the Marina City complex in 1972. Petitioner sometimes goes to what he believes are unsafe job sites to settle insurance claims. Petitioner filed an application to become a deputy sheriff in Cook County in 1973 and he began a training program sometime during that year. He spent about $34 for ammunition in 1973.

In his notice of deficiency respondent disallowed all of the claimed deductions for the guns and ammunition.

There is no way this Court will sanction the deductibility of a private handgun collection under these circumstances. A handgun simply does not qualify as an ordinary and necessary business expense for an insurance agent, even a bold and brave Wyatt Earp type with a fast draw who is willing to risk injury or death in the service of his clients. We regard such expenses as extraordinary rather than "ordinary" to the usual and customary business of an insurance agent. Nor are they "necessary," i.e., appropriate and helpful, for the development or protection of his business. Indeed, petitioner's arguments for deductibility strike us as erroneous and just plain nonsense. Consequently, we hold that the amounts spent for the guns and ammunition are personal expenses which are nondeductible under section 262.