> I think it's a travesty as well as a remnant of patriarchy that you can deduct a steakhouse lunch as the "cost of doing business" but not deduct daycare as a

> I think it's a travesty as well as a remnant of patriarchy that you can deduct a steakhouse lunch as the "cost of doing business" but not deduct daycare as a cost of being able to work. You can't deduct the full amount of a steakhouse lunch as a "cost of doing business." You can deduct 50% of the amount. And if you have a significant number of these deductions, don't be surprised when they are challenged. As for the suggestion that daycare be a deductible expense "as a cost of being able to work", I think you'd have more success arguing for structural tax reform than new deductions targeted to a specific group of people. After all, there are a whole host of other items that aren't currently deductible, such as regular commute expenses, that one might argue are "a cost of being able to work."