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Presents - A Medical Tax Deduction

As I stated in the introduction I believe that it is possible to gain a tax deduction for a special diet. This deduction would be classified as a medical care expense deduction. To qualify as a medical care expense deduction, the expenditure must be made for a medical purpose. Since your medical condition is well documented there should be no argument here. While the tax code does not specifically list all allowable medical expenses what the IRS uses is the term MEDICAL CARE. A partial definition of MEDICAL CARE, as defined in the TAX CODE, is for the treatment of, or, prevention of disease. To help with the substantiation of the medical expenses you incurred for MEDICAL CARE is that they be prescribed by your doctor. The prescription from your doctor makes the expense necessary for you in your rehabilitation/treatment/prevention process. In a family sometimes the one afflicted with this disease is the only one in the family required to make changes in his or hers dietary habits. If this is the case, this strengthens the arguement for a medical expense deduction. This makes the expenditure special since only one person in the family has had to change their dietary habits.

IN ORDER TO TAKE THESE TYPES OF EXPENSES AS MEDICAL TAX DEDUCTIONS YOU WILL NEED THE FOLLOWING DOCUMENTATION TO SUPPORT YOUR CLAIM FOR THIS TYPE OF DEDUCTION:

A prescription from your doctor, dietician, or nutritionist requiring you to have a special diet. Paid receipts showing the amounts paid for the expenditures. The best way to provide this documentation is to use the list of ingredients (recipe) provided. Matching this list with the actual expenses made for the ingredients (recipe) should provide more than enough of the necessary documentation. This is the only type of documentation that will suffice. If you have all of this documentation it will be hard for the IRS to deny this tax deduction should you be audited. You will have met all the prescribed testing that you need.

I know if you presented this situation to ten accountants, you would probably get ten different answers. The reason one would get a wide variety of answers is because accountants are conservative in nature, some more than others. They sometimes hesitate to present new ideas and methods to their clients for fear of rocking the boat. I, as an accountant, do not feel this way. I maintain that the definitions given by the tax code will allow one to take these prescribed changes as a tax deduction provided you meet the conditions outlined above. After all the IRS has allowed as medical expense deductions other expenses such as pools, elevators and other special equipment required in the prescribed rehabilitation process. Why should these expenses fail to qualify? To reiterate in order for these expenses to qualify they must be prescribed and you have clear cut documentation to substantiate your deductions.

Now I would like to provide you with a link into the IRS TAX CODE so that you can see and read for yourself what the tax law is.
By the way feel free to use other sections of the tax code. After all it is now at your disposal.

Your Comments and Thoughts are Always Welcome

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