Advertisement

Stray Cat Strut: Woman Beats IRS

A woman who had deducted expenses related to saving feral cats went up against the IRS and won, potentially reshaping the rules on some unreimbursed expenses. Kelsey Hubbard talks with WSJ's Laura Saunders about the implications of this precedent setting ruling.

When Jan Van Dusen appeared before a U.S. Tax Court judge and a team of Internal Revenue Service lawyers more than a year ago, there was more at stake than her tax deduction for taking care of 70 stray cats.

Hanging in the balance were millions of dollars in annual tax deductions by animal-rescue volunteers across the nation—and some needed clarity on the treatment of volunteers' unreimbursed expenses for 1.55 million other IRS-recognized charities.

Copyright ©2025 Dow Jones & Company, Inc. All Rights Reserved. 87990cbe856818d5eddac44c7b1cdeb8

Advertisement