TAX DEDUCTION - USA

Department of the Treasury

Internal Revenue Service

Publication 502 Cat. No. 15002Q

Medical and Dental Expenses

Page 6

https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/p502.pdf

 

Capital Expenses

You can include in medical expenses amounts you pay for special equipment installed in a home, or for improvements, if their main purpose is medical care for you, your spouse, or your dependent. The cost of permanent improvements that increase the value of your property may be partly included as a medical expense.

The cost of the improvement is reduced by the increase in the value of your property. The difference is a medical expense. If the value of your property is not increased by the improvement, the entire cost is included as a medical expense.

Certain improvements made to accommodate a home to your disabled condition, or that of your spouse or your dependents that live with you, do not usually increase the value of the home and the cost can be included in full as medical expenses. These improvements include, but are not limited to, the following items.

  • · Constructing entrance or exit ramps for your home.
  • · Widening doorways at entrances or exits to your home.
  • · Widening or otherwise modifying hallways and interior doorways.
  • · Installing railings, support bars, or other modifications to bathrooms.
  • · Lowering or modifying kitchen cabinets and equipment.
  • · Moving or modifying electrical outlets and fixtures.
  • · Installing porch lifts and other forms of lifts (but elevators generally add value to the house).
  • · Modifying fire alarms, smoke detectors, and other warning systems.
  • · Modifying stairways.
  • · Adding handrails or grab bars anywhere (whether or not in bathrooms).
  • · Modifying hardware on doors.
  • · Modifying areas in front of entrance and exit door-ways.
  • · Grading the ground to provide access to the residence.

Only reasonable costs to accommodate a home to a disabled condition are considered medical care. Additional costs for personal motives, such as for architectural or aesthetic reasons, are not medical expenses.