How do I claim my Emotional Support Animal on my tax return?

[DoninGA]

An emotional support animal expenses are not deductible as a medical expense.

Go to this IRS Publication 502 for medical expenses - https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/p502.pdf

Guide Dog or Other Service Animal
You can include in medical expenses the costs of buying, training, and maintaining a guide dog or other service animal to assist a visually impaired or hearing disabled person, or a person with other physical disabilities. In general, this includes any costs, such as food, grooming, and veterinary care, incurred in maintaining the health and vitality of the service animal so that it may perform its duties.

[Opus 17]

You probably can't.

You can deduct a service animal.  A service animal is specifically trained to perform one or more assistive tasks that supports the medical needs of the owner.   If you have a service animal, you can deduct certain costs as outlined above.

Generally, an emotional support animal is different from a service animal in that an emotional support animal provides support through its own natural behaviors, and is not trained to perform any specific type of medical assistance.  Emotional support animals are not deductible medical expenses under current law.  

[hwilliams7]

Hi thanks for information.. it does not say where in the taxes return these expense 

[hwilliams7]

Question it says  Guide Dog or Other Service Animal ...the client says other service animal applies to his esa animal and the IRS  guidelines do say specifically  state : An emotional support animal expenses are not deductible as a medical expense mentioned in the thread ...

https://www.irs.gov/taxtopics/tc502

• Amounts paid for false teeth, reading or prescription eyeglasses, contact lenses, hearing aids, a guide dog or other service animal to assist a visually impaired or hearing disabled person, or a person with other physical disabilities, crutches, and wheelchairs.  

It mention in order tc502 physical does not mention anything about emotional support 

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

 Guide Dog or Other Service Animal
You can include in medical expenses the costs of buying,
training, and maintaining a guide dog or other service animal to assist a visually impaired or hearing disabled person, or a person with other physical disabilities. In general,
this includes any costs, such as food, grooming, and veterinary care, incurred in maintaining the health and vitality
of the service animal so that it may perform its duties.

https://www.ada.gov/resources/service-animals-2010-requirements/#how-service-animal-is-defined

ADA definition: 

How “Service Animal” Is Defined

Service animals are defined as dogs that are individually trained to do work or perform tasks for people with disabilities. Examples of such work or tasks include guiding people who are blind, alerting people who are deaf, pulling a wheelchair, alerting and protecting a person who is having a seizure, reminding a person with mental illness to take prescribed medications, calming a person with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) during an anxiety attack, or performing other duties. Service animals are working animals, not pets. The work or task a dog has been trained to provide must be directly related to the person’s disability. Dogs whose sole function is to provide comfort or emotional support do not qualify as service animals under the ADA.

This definition does not affect or limit the broader definition of “assistance animal” under the Fair Housing Act or the broader definition of “service animal” under the Air Carrier Access Act.

Some State and local laws also define service animal more broadly than the ADA does. Information about such laws can be obtained from the relevant State attorney general’s office.

Also where are the expenses put on the tax return...

customer said training and other expenses have occurred for 2024 

[Vanessa A]

Where does it say "Guide dog or other service animal"

Since Emotional Support Animals are not deductible, you should not enter it on the return.