Pot tax deductable?

[Keith Lake]

I'm on the East Coast right now, but hope to be back home in San Diego in a year or so. I was fooling around with my taxes yesterday and go to thinking....

I was wondering how the Cal filers treated their medicinal marijuana expenses. This can really add up to serious money and if one is over their 7.5% of AGI they should be able to take this deduction as a legit medical expense.

Of course I don't know how the fed's would feel about it < lol > but I think the IRS can't cross report admissions such as these.

I'm just wondering if anyone knows any precidents on this issue.

 

[tommysmokes]

I think the government isn't going to give you a deduction for something they consider an illegal activity. If they did bank robbers could deduct the cost of shotguns, ski masks and hacksaws.

 

[Reefer2me]

Are you growing pot for your medical Rx? and if its legal in Cali to do this for medical purposes then, why not...right?? I really have know idea. lol that would be great, the government refunds u money for growing weed!

 

[Dunlap]

The best I could find was an article from 1997 saying the IRS does not allow it. I don't know if things have changed at all since then, but I kinda doubt it. Would be nice though.

 

[bigfanofpj]

Deductible Weed?? The only thing better would be a copay for Kush!! lmao

This is a VERY interesting point. Maybe one day, we can deduct FF soil!!

 

[Happy Kitty]

Maybe if they decide to make it tax-deductible, the clubs might give receipts.

I am seldom handed a sales receipt. Remember, no returns lol!

 

[420]

most clubs i've been to take credit cards and give receipts...
and yes, medicine is always tax deductible...
i've spoken to dozens of patients who have been writing it off for years...
someone do the research and post the info...

 

[Pinch]

Read this tonight while doing taxes.

6:52 a.m. January 30, 2007

What do doctors' visits, Navajo healing ceremonies and clarinet lessons have in common? All can qualify, under the right circumstances, as tax-deductible medical expenses.

It's not that easy to take the deduction — medical expenses must exceed 7.5 percent of adjusted gross income before they can be deducted. On the other hand, taxpayers can cast a wide net to reach that threshold, so it may be easier than you think.

Costs for elastic hosiery, seeing-eye dogs, stop-smoking and weight-loss programs, lead paint removal, special mattresses for relief of arthritis or spine problems, reclining chairs prescribed by a doctor — all have been permitted by either the Internal Revenue Service or the U.S. Tax Court, where tax disputes are heard.

"If it was prescribed for a medical purpose or to alleviate a condition, you have a good chance of getting it through," said Donna LeValley, a tax attorney and contributing editor of the J.K. Lasser tax publications.

The key is whether the expense involves the diagnosis, cure, treatment or prevention of a disease or health condition for you, a spouse or a dependent.

Don't stretch it too far. Health clubs, therapeutic dance lessons, marriage counseling, tattooing, sex-change operations and diaper services don't qualify as medical expenses. Costs of divorce, even if recommended by a psychiatrist, don't qualify; neither does a hotel room used for sex therapy.

Also not deductible: funeral and burial expenses, toothpaste, toiletries, cosmetics and most cosmetic surgery, unless necessary to improve a disfigurement from disease, birth or accidental injury.

Still, legitimate expenses do add up. They can include air conditioners for relief of allergies or breathing problems, hearing aids, eyeglasses, contact lenses, Braille books, adapters for closed-caption service for the deaf, orthopedic shoes, crutches, wheelchairs, wigs for those who've lost hair through disease, and legal fees for guardianship of a mentally ill spouse.

Deducting clarinet lessons was permitted because a dentist recommended them for treatment of tooth defects, LeValley noted.

"You can see how that might be a little iffy, but it made sense once you see what the dentist was trying to achieve," she said.

Traditional health expenses — doctors' visits, laboratory tests and prescription drugs — qualify, but so do alternative procedures like acupuncture, Navajo healing "sings," electric shock, whirlpool baths, hydrotherapy and heat treatments. (But marijuana isn't deductible, even when prescribed by a doctor in a state permitting the prescription.)

Childbirth classes for expectant mothers — but not maternity clothes — are deductible, and so are remedial reading expenses for a child suffering from dyslexia and the wages of a blind person's guide.

Health insurance premiums, including Medicare B supplemental insurance and Part D prescription drug insurance, are deductible. But you can't deduct insurance premiums paid by an employer-sponsored health insurance plan unless the premiums are included in Box 1 of your Form W-2.

Also, be sure to subtract insurance company reimbursement from the expenses you submit for the medical expenses deduction.

Keep in mind that no medical expenses can be deducted until the 7.5 percent adjusted gross income threshold is reached, and even then only by taxpayers who itemize deductions. (For more information, see the IRS Publication 502, "Medical and Dental Expenses.")

With those caveats, here's a list of some deductible medical expenses:

Fees paid to doctors, dentists, surgeons, chiropractors, psychiatrists, psychologists and Christian Science practitioners.

• Hospital services, certain long-term care services, nursing services and laboratory fees.
  
• Acupuncture treatments or inpatient treatment at a center for alcohol or drug addiction.
  
• Costs of stop-smoking programs and drugs prescribed to alleviate nicotine withdrawal, but not for nicotine gum and nicotine patches, which don't require a prescription.
  
• Costs of participating in a weight-loss program for a specific disease, including obesity, diagnosed by a physician, but not the cost of purchasing diet food items.
  
• Transportation expenses such as tolls and parking fees, taxis, and bus, train and airplane fares for trips to doctors' offices, health care facilities and laboratories. Either auto mileage or actual out-of-pocket costs for gas and oil for such trips also can be deducted.
  
• Ambulance fees.
  
• Meals and lodging charged by the hospital or similar institution if your main reason for being there is to receive medical care.
  
• Insurance premiums for accident and health or qualified long-term care insurance (but not for life insurance, policies providing for loss of wages because of illness or injury, or policies that pay a guaranteed amount each week for a sickness).
  
• False teeth, prescription eyeglasses and contact lenses, laser eye surgery, hearing aids, crutches, wheelchairs, and guide dogs for the blind or deaf.
  
• Canes, walkers, orthopedic shoes and other equipment for the disabled.
  
• Nursing home expenses incurred primarily for medical care.
  
• Over-the-counter medical supplies like bandages and aspirin.
  
• Costs of home renovation to improve handicapped access

Source: signonsandiego.com
Author: Eileen Putman, Associated Press
Copyright: © Copyright 2007 Union-Tribune Publishing Co. - A Copley Newspaper Site
Website: SignOnSanDiego.com > News > Features -- Medical expenses add up to tax deduction if you cast a wide net

420- The people that are deducting now are, more than likely, deducting it as a "prescribed treatment" not mentioning, per se, what the treatment is. I would do the same.. if you ever get audited I'm sure you'll have to correct it at that time.. but hey, what are the odds?

 

[Keith Lake]

Read this tonight while doing taxes.

(But marijuana isn't deductible, even when prescribed by a doctor in a state permitting the prescription.)

Well that figures, addictive prescription narcotics ok (above 7.5% AGI)

Pot, the lifesaver for many in dire pain or with inability to maintain appetite otherwise - Fug-et-a-bout-it

Thanks for doing the research though..

Sorry to the moderators for posting in the wrong section

 

[CubsRule420]

I don't know that I would try claiming it either because if your growing and if/when they send in federal agents you don't get california law in court...

 

[Pinch]

I don't know that I would try claiming it either because if your growing and if/when they send in federal agents you don't get california law in court...

Well, I wouldn't claim it either as "medical marijuana" but one could claim it as "prescribed treatment". I'm not saying that's right, just another way to look at it.

So if you figure you may be part of the 3% that audits annually by the IRS.. that's 3%.. don't do it.

 

[TexasSmoke]

Would be cool if you could claim it and write it off, but 1. im not trying to be audited by the IRS and 2. aint trying to see the Federalis or go to court