Cosmetic surgery. Is it allowable?

Almost certainly you won’t get tax relief on cosmetic surgery, but the HMRC Business Income Manual does hold out the possibility of of it being allowed if you can demonstrate that the surgery does not have a private purpose. What the Manual giving advice to tax inspectors actually says is:

Where a person in the public eye claims a deduction for the cost of cosmetic surgery to correct some perceived inadequacy in their appearance then you need to examine whether one of the purposes in incurring those costs was to gratify their private wish to improve/change their appearance. If it was, no deduction will be due. Only in exceptional circumstances will an operation to change personal appearance by reversing or masking the advancing of the years not have a private purpose. You should invite the Commissioners to infer the existence of a private motive unless there is compelling evidence to the contrary.

In most cases cosmetic surgery will at the very least boost self-esteem and may improve your private life. Breast augmentation, face lifts or tummy tucks are all going to have at least some element of private purpose and are not going to qualify tax relief. But what about Lindi St Clair’s utterly inspired question to the tax inspector who was sent to interrogate her? Could she get tax relief on the cost of having her tonsils removed so as to improve her technique at giving oral sex? It’s hard to see much personal benefit, and provided there was no medical reason for a tonsillectomy, I’d say there’s a good case for saying yes. Sadly Lindi’s biography doesn’t record what answer, if any, she was given at the time.