One lawyer learned the hard way that the $10,434, $10,313, and $8,022, she paid respectively to her 3 minor children for office work (shredding waste, answering phones, photocopying documents, and greeting her clients) was not deductible wages. The reason: She didn’t keep payroll records or issue them W-2s. Note: Using the Cohan rule, the court did allow a deduction of $250 for each child because they clearly did perform services.