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Fighting Obesity Is Tax-Deductible IRS Says You Can Deduct Prescribed Weight-Loss Plans April 3, 2002 -- The battle of the bulge is about to get a little easier on your pocketbook. The Internal Revenue Service issued a ruling Tuesday that officially recognizes obesity as a disease -- making physician-prescribed plans to treat it tax-deductible. Experts say the ruling may set a precedent for insurance companies and other government-sponsored programs like Medicare to offer coverage for obesity programs. But the new deduction will likely only apply to a small percentage of people who are trying to lose weight. The ruling does not apply to people who want to shed pounds in order to improve their general health and appearance. Fees associated with joining weight-loss programs, such as Weight Watchers, Jenny Craig, and others, and attending meetings are now deductible expenses for those who have been referred to the programs by a doctor to treat obesity. But the cost of diet foods is not deductible. According to the IRS, "Although diet foods may also be part of a weight-loss program, these are substitutes for the food the taxpayers normally consume and satisfy their nutritional requirements. As such, they are not deductible medical expenses, even for taxpayers whose disease qualifies them to deduct weight-loss program costs." In addition, taxpayers may deduct qualifying medical expenses, including weight-loss plans, only to the extent the total of such expenses exceeds 7.5% of their adjusted gross income. The IRS says this ruling not only applies to the 2001 tax returns being filed this year and future returns, but also to any previous years for which the taxpayer can file an amended return (generally three years after the due date). The judgment updates a previous IRS policy that allowed deductions for physician-ordered weight loss plans prescribed to combat diseases such as heart disease and high blood pressure.

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