No, the dress you purchase to wear to the big benefit gala can't be written off on your taxes as a charitable deduction.

One client tried to do this, saying she had to buy a nice dress because it was a black-tie fundraiser for a charitable organization and she didn't have anything appropriate to wear.

"In her mind it made sense -- she thought, 'I was going to support this organization so any money I'm out of pocket in this regard should be deductible,'" said Bernadette Schopfer, director of taxation at Maier Markey & Justic LLP.

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