As a sommelier, am I able to deduct wine purchases as an itemized employee business expense, since it furthers my knowledge in my profession?

[Meghan2]

I work in a restaurant full time. I would like to itemize my expenses related to wine & beer purchased from a store as an business-related employee expense. It definitely furthers my knowledge in my profession and keeps me current on knowledge that is compulsory to doing my job.

[ToddL · Accepted solution]

I would love to tell you otherwise, but you cannot deduct your wine & beer purchases as an employee-related business expense - even if you are a full-time sommelier. 

Costs incurred in both your personal life and your business life are rarely deductible as business expenses. Food, drink and clothing would come under this category.

You could, however, deduct any unreimbursed costs of attending a wine-tasting (workshop?) or wine class to further your experience and knowledge as a sommelier. You have to itemize deductions and these are subject to a 2% of AGI limit (only the amount  exceeding 2% of your AGI is deducted from income).

A common example of this would be "uniforms" - if you can wear the "uniform" as clothing outside of your workplace, you cannot claim a business deduction for the cost of that uniform. High-powered businesspersons must often spend a great deal of money on business attire, but they can wear the same clothing for non-business purposes - not deductible. Military people, however, are usually restricted on when and where they are allowed to wear their uniforms - deductible.