Tax question

2 replies
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I want to deduct the cost of my Hot tub as a durable medical equipment. I have a prescription from my Veterans Administration (VA) pain doctor. I am 100% service connected disabled and have had 2 back operations. The new hot tub is a replacement for a hot tub I purchased in 2011. I have receipts from bot hot tubs. I am located in Arizona. I also believe the Hot Tub should have been sales tax free also.

Karis_F

Employee Tax Expert

Your new hot tub can qualify as a deductible medical expense if a physician prescribed its use to treat a specific medical condition and you can show the hot tub is required for the prescribed therapy. Expenses are deductible on your tax return in the year they occur, so only the expenses related to the new hot tub would be deductible.

How to claim it

- Claim the hot tub expenses on Schedule A (itemized deductions).

- Your total itemized deductions must be greater than your standard deduction.

- Only medical expenses above 7.5% of your adjusted gross income are deductible.

If the hot tub increases your home's value

- You can't deduct the full cost.

- Your deduction is limited to the total cost of purchase and installation minus the increase in your home's value from the addition.

- You may need a certified real estate appraisal to determine the increase in your home's fair market value.

Ongoing costs

Whether you deduct the full cost or only part of it in the year of installation, ongoing operating and maintenance expenses are deductible on Schedule A.

Sales tax

The hot tub purchase was probably not free of sales tax. If you itemize, you can choose to deduct state and local sales tax instead of state and local income taxes on Schedule A.

Helpful link

- TurboTax guide to medical expense deductions

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NCperson

Level 15

note that since this is a replacement for a hot tub installed in 2011, you can’t add both hot tubs to the cost basis of your home. It is possible that if the one just purchased and after subtracting the part that is a qualified medical deduction is less than the one purchased in 2011, then only the one from 2011 is part of the cost basis.