|
Item
#4
Reducing A1c Could beTax Deductible!
Will the
government really pay us to lower our blood sugars?
According to
a recent IRS ruling, certain costs related reducing A1c’s that are
associated with weight loss, nutritional and exercise programs
that are recommended by your physician are tax deductible! And
not just for this year, but you can go back all the way to 98” and
take deductions.
The IRS just
ruled that certain costs related to losing weight could actually
be deducted from your taxes. But before you start shaving pounds,
and with the hope of saving something on your returns, you need to
get the real story..
Obesity is considered a disease and like any other a diseases so
just like heart disease, arthritis, diabetes, obesity treatments
are tax deductible.
However, there are certain rules.
For example, you can't just want to lose 10 pounds to look better
for your high school reunion. That's not going to do it. Your
doctor has to say that you are actually clinically obese. And
let's take a look at what the National Institutes of Health means
when they say clinically obese. Someone 5'4", and this is a man or
a woman, 175 pounds or more, that would be considered clinically
obese. Someone who is 5'10", 210 pounds or more, that would also
be considered clinically obese.
Now the costs of the kinds of things that you do, your doctor has
to actually recommend them.
The IRS didn't spell it out, so they left a little bit to the
imagination. However, what they did say is that food is not
deductible. So we know if you go out and get a bag of apples, you
can't deduct that, or even a frozen Weight Watchers meal, you
can't deduct that. Some of this will come out as they make their
rulings and do their audits. However, certain costs appear to be
approved to be tax deductible. They're actually pretty high. For
example, if you wanted to go on Weight Watchers for a year, that
would cost $630, and that's not including the food. If you wanted
to go on the diet pill Meridia, that would be approximately
$1,000. If you wanted to go on the Duke University weight loss
program for four weeks, that would be $6,000. If you had a
personal trainer recommended by your doctor it looks like that
would be deductible.
We all
know that by loosing weight we can improve our blood sugars and
reduce our A1c’s, so I guess the government is really paying us to
control our blood sugars.
I
wonder if 4 weeks at the Canyon Ranch Spa in Arizona would be
considered?
===============================
News
Flash:
The
incidence of obesity among adults has doubled since 1980 and
overweight among adolescents has tripled in that time frame
Back / Next Item
[an error occurred while processing this directive]
|
