Share this infographic on your site!
Embed this infographic on your site!
The editors at Top Accounting Degrees decided to research the topic of
Tax Me If You Can: Bizarre Things You Can Get Tax Reductions For
Medical expenses
The IRS allows you to deduct medical expenses as long as they're 7.5% or more of your adjusted gross income
- Deductions can be used for:
- doctor's visits
- chiropractor visits
- acupuncture
- Christian Science practitioners
- Practically anyone else who can claim that treatment is medically necessary.
- Up to 23.5 cents per mile may be deducted for travel expenses
- Travel to and from appointments and procedures
- Travel to and from conferences about your specific medical condition
- Travel to and from meetings like Alcoholics Anonymous
- Deductions can be made if you have children with diagnosed learning disabilities
- Special education services
- Therapies
- Travel expenses
- Tuition costs to higher education programs for people with learning disabilities
- Weight loss
- If your doctor tells you that your weight is causing health problems, you may be able to deduct methods of weight loss as a medical expense
- As long as your doctor signs off on it, this could include:
- Personal trainers
- Gym membership
- Equipment
- Meal plans
- Consultations
- Smoking cessation
- Smoking cessation classes, patches and aides may be deducted as medical expenses
Swimming pool
- A man who was diagnosed with emphysema was told by his doctor that swimming would help him improve his lung health
- The IRS allowed him to deduct the cost of his pool, chemicals and supplies as a medical expense
Sex-change operation
- A man who felt that he was a woman trapped inside a man's body was diagnosed with gender-identity disorder
- The IRS granted his claim that a sex-change operation was a medical expense since it was to treat a diagnosed disease
- $14,500 was deducted to cover hormone therapy and sexual-reassignment surgeries
Cosmetic surgery
- In 1988, a stripper named Chesty Love claimed a $2,088 breast enlargement surgery as a business expense
- She was granted the deduction in appeals court
- This opened a door for people in the entertainment industry to claim deductions on cosmetic procedures that will earn them more money
Clarinet lessons
- If your kid has an overbite, clarinet lessons are a good way to go
- In 1962, orthodontists argued that playing the clarinet helps with a child's overbite and should qualify as a medical expense
- Tax deductions can be obtained for the cost of the instrument and the lessons
Whaling Ships
- As of 2004, whaling captains are eligible for up to $10,000 in deductions for ship repairs, equipment purchases and other whaling expenses.
- In the US, whaling is banned for all but Native American cultures
Sources
- https://turbotax.intuit.com/tax-tools/tax-tips/General-Tax-Tips/10-Strange-But-Legitimate-Federal-Tax-Deductions/INF14190.html
- http://www.howstuffworks.com/personal-finance/personal-income-taxes/10-creative-but-legal-tax-deductions.htm#page=11
- http://money.msn.com/tax-preparation/14-extraordinary-tax-deductions
