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Walk-in Tub Warranties
Tax Deductions on Walk-in Tubs
Feb 11, 2016
Documentation & Prescription
Whether you’re a guardian to an elderly dependent or a senior who needs bathing assistance, tax deductions can help you cut down on the cost of a walk-in tub as long as it is considered a medical expense. Once you’ve received a doctor’s prescription for a walk-in tub, and medical documentation detailing your condition, you can then file for a deduction based on a few conditions and guidelines that will be covered in brief below.
Are Walk-in Tubs Eligible for Tax Deduction?
Deducting the cost of a walk-in tub depends on a few things: It has to be viewed as a medical expense for it to be eligible for a deduction. Home modifications costs for medical purposes are eligible expenses for tax deductions. According to the IRS publication 502, medical expenses are “the costs of diagnosis, cure, mitigation, treatment, or prevention of disease, and the costs for treatments affecting any part or function of the body. Medical care expenses must be primarily to alleviate or prevent a physical or mental defect or illness. They don't include expenses that are merely beneficial to general health.”
How Much of a Deduction Can I Receive?
The other condition for eligibility is that the medical expense exceeds 7.5% of your gross income. Based on these standards, the conditions for eligibility are clear; if you have a doctor’s prescription for a walk-in tub you can file for a
tax deduction that lowers your taxable income accordingly. If for example, your income is $40,000 and you receive a deduction worth $3,000, you only have to pay taxes for $37,000 since 40,000 - 3,000 = 37,000.
Is My Spouse/ Close Relative Eligible for a Deduction?
Your purchase of a walk-in tub is deductible in each of the following tax filing situations:
1) When your personal medical expenses exceed 7.5% of your adjusted gross income.
2) When you and your spouse’s taxes are filed jointly and your combined medical expenses exceed 7.5% of your combined adjusted gross income.
3) As long as you and your spouse file for taxes separately, you could yield a greater tax reduction in total since both of your incomes are treated separately.
4) In the event that you are claimed as a dependent by a caregiver in the family, you can combine both of your medical expenses and adjusted gross incomes, and if your joint medical expenses exceed 7.5% of your joint income, you can then receive a deduction.
More Solutions
Consult with a tax preparation service to make sure that a tax deduction on a walk-in tub does not conflict with any of your medical insurance policies. To get an understanding of Medicaid's and Medicare's coverage of walk-in tubs, click here.
If you're a veteran or a close relative to one, find out about the VA aid programs and grants that could help you reduce your medical expenses.
