Question:
Can costs be deducted for income tax
I had heard several years ago from a tax person that ANYTHING medical was allowed to be a deduction. I am counting on that. I saw today on one of the headlines at the top of the page at this website tat "Irs says you now MIGHT be able to claim expenses. Anyone have any ideas? I go tomorrow to give the hospital my 15,000 down payment. — armonce G. (posted on December 23, 2002)
December 23, 2002
If you are a home owner this is true, as I was told. Could have changed.
But I know that I wrote my 6000.00 down payment for my surgery on my irs
forms and it was counted.. also you have to have a certain amount which I
am sure your 15,000 will certainly qualify you for using towards ur irs...
good luck
— Deanna Wise
December 23, 2002
If you are considered obese and the doctor recommends it and you itemize
your deductions then it is deductible. Cost of vitamins or supplements and
special foods (protein shakes)are usually not however unless prescribed
— snicklefritz
December 23, 2002
I recently had a long discussion with my accountant about this, and I think
the first answer given to you here is partially correct. Medical expenses
are always deductible IF you have paid more than 7.5% of your income to
them. These include doctors visits, deductibles, everything. The IRS
changed the law regarding obesity deductions this year (or maybe last
year), so that obesity related costs CAN be included as part of medical
deductions. So...add to the doctors visits, etc., your costs related to
surgery (everything: blood work, sleep study, etc; anything not covered by
insurance) and if the total is more than 7.5% of your income, you can
deduct the whole thing. It sounds to me that the 15K down payment will go
a long way towards meeting that requirement...of course, depending on how
many hundreds of thousands or millions or billions of dollars you make per
year. :) I would also, personally, check to make sure what the actual
wording of the IRS reg is; I'm not sure if the requirement goes towards
treatment of "obesity" or "morbid obesity" -- and
again, I'm not sure how they define either. SAVE ALL YOUR RECEIPTS, and
this year, even if you typically do your taxes yourself, think about hiring
an accountant. You can probably find a good one for a few hundred dollars,
and hopefully, he/she will save you a ton more than that. Good luck!
— Tamara K.
December 23, 2002
You can deduct weight programs that you join if they are to cure a medical
condition. Purely cosmetic surgery is not deductable. If there is a
medical reason it is allowed. However, the cost of the food is not
allowed. You would have to eat no matter what so the tax code says food is
not deductable. As others have mentioned, it is deductable only to the
extent that it exceeds 7 1/2% of you Adjusted Gross Income and that number
added to the rest of you itemized deductions exceeds the staandard
deduction you would be allowed. For many of us who have good insurance, it
is questionable if it would benefit us. For most self-pays it is a real
possibility. Keep your receipts and do the math.
— Karen G.
December 23, 2002
I am a tax preparer and I also called the IRS to this question because I
wanted WLS so I do know the answer to this question. Late in the tax
season last year the IRS said yes to weight management being deductible
issue but then recinded it again. At this point, "weight management
program" is NOT deductible BUT WLS is a surgery not a weight
management program. So yes, the surgery, sleep study and everything else
you paid for is deductible. Things that are not covered are things like
Weight Watchers and Jenny Craig. Also, one other thing that no one
mentioned is that you can also claim your mileage. Mileage to the doctors,
the hospital, the pharmacy etc. to and from your home is deductible as
well. Last year I believe it was 10 cents a mile, I am not sure this year.
— Angela A.
December 24, 2002
According to the Lasser book, it is 13 cents a mile this year. Plus costs
of tolls etc. A good idea tio check with your accountant, a real one. I
work for one, but we are way far from you! lol
— Helenjean P.
December 24, 2002
Just want to correct one thing. You don't have to be a homeowner. You
just have to itemize your deductions. Since most people who don't own
their homes don't have enough deductions to itemize, that might be where
the confusion comes in. I know that I wouldn't be able to itemize if I
couldn't deduct the interest and taxes on my house.
— garw
December 26, 2002
One additional deduction that non one has mentioned is the cost of a hotel
room if you are traveling away from your home to have treatment. It is
probably best to add up all your medical expenses (hotels, mileage,
prescriptions, meidcal costs, etc.) first and then see if you spent enough
to qualify for the deduction. I believe it needs to be 7.5% of your
income.
— jmusser
December 30, 2002
Go to AOA-American Obesity Association. I signed up as a member. Just
navigate around on the site for IRS deductions, and you will find some
answers you might be helpful to you.
http://www.obesity.org/subs/tax/taxbreaks.shtml
http://www.obesity.org/subs/tax/irsruling.shtml
http://www.obesity.org/subs/tax/taxguide.shtml
http://obesity.org/subs/pressroom/irspress.shtml
Also, there are three downloads that would be benificial. I can't remember
if it is on the Home page or on the page that says tax breaks, but you can
locate it on the right had side of the page.
— yourdivaness
December 30, 2002
Go to AOA-American Obesity Association. I signed up as a member. Just
navigate around on the site for IRS deductions, and you will find some
answers you might be helpful to you.
http://www.obesity.org/subs/tax/taxbreaks.shtml
http://www.obesity.org/subs/tax/irsruling.shtml
http://www.obesity.org/subs/tax/taxguide.shtml
http://obesity.org/subs/pressroom/irspress.shtml
Also, there are three downloads that would be benificial. I can't remember
if it is on the Home page or on the page that says tax breaks, but you can
locate it on the right had side of the page.
— yourdivaness
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