Taxpayer asks:
I have a stressful situation at my work and I haven’t been able to sleep. I went to my doctor and he told me to buy some relaxation tapes. Can I deduct those?
Taxgirl says:
I can totally sympathize with you. I couldn’t sleep more than a couple of hours during my first year of law school and it was terrible. I thought part of it was that I missed the sounds from home so I went out and bought these frog CDs (yes, frog CDs, I come from a little house in the woods next to a pond) to help me sleep. Those likely wouldn’t have qualified as deductible because I didn’t have an official diagnosis, nor did my physician suggest frog CDs to help me sleep.
A deduction for medical expenses is only allowed only for the “prevention or alleviation of a physical or mental defect or illness.” It would include payments for the diagnosis, cure, mitigation, treatment, or prevention of disease, or treatment affecting any structure or function of the body (you can check out a list of allowable medical expenses here). It doesn’t include expenses that are merely beneficial to your general health.
That said, my answer to your question is “maybe.” It really depends on whether your doctor has officially diagnosed you with an identifiable problem (stress, for example, is probably not enough on its own, but a diagnosis of insomnia should cut it) and how the doctor proposes to cure or relieve the problem. If the doctor specifically advised that you purchase those CDs as a cure or relief for an illness, you can likely claim them (be sure and get this in writing to be safe). Note, however, that the same rule doesn’t apply to medicines – those must be specifically prescribed to be deductible, so if you’re buying over the counter sleep aids without a prescription, you can’t deduct those.
By the way, I did eventually get over my insomnia. Of course, since that I’ve lived in the City for a number of years, now when I go home to my parents’ home, those freaking frogs drive me nuts!
Like any good lawyer, I need to add a disclaimer: Unfortunately, it is impossible to give comprehensive tax advice over the internet, no matter how well researched or written. Before relying on any information given on this site, contact a tax professional to discuss your particular situation.
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