@rhuriaux wrote:
I believe they can be under very limited circumstances. If your new hearing aid is Bluetooth enabled to a smart phone AND the phone is 100% your business phone AND if the hearing aid is used to connect to the phone for business phone conversations, I believe there is a good argument that it is a business tax deduction. Remember, there is in question that a Bluetooth enable headphone (such as Bose) used for business would be a business tax deduction. Anyone have any comments on this?
The issue is really what is the extra cost over what would normally be the personal (schedule A) cost. I believe the example the IRS uses is a reading device for the blind. If you have one for personal use, that's a schedule A medical expense. If you buy a second reading device to leave at work so you can read work papers, that can be a work-related expense.
It's also important to note that under the TCJA, work-related expenses are not deductible for W-2 employees until at least 2026, so the medical expense is the only way to go for employees.
For self employed, I would look at the extra cost, or the "but for" cost. As in, But for my work, this would be a personal medical expense costing X, but because of work, this costs X+Y. Y is the deductible work expense.
Going back to a hearing aid, if bluetooth costs extra and the person uses bluetooth at work but not at home, then the extra cost would be work-related. The person doesn't have to have a work-specific phone in my opinion, but they would have to not use bluetooth at home. If they use bluetooth at home (with their personal phone or the TV or computer) then the extra cost of the bluetooth is not specifically allocable to work. Alternatively maybe they need a custom hearing aid for work because it has a unique noise environment, and they need a different frequency response at work than at home. That would also make the work hearing aids a work-related expense.
For me it would come down to the idea of an extra cost that was work-related, over the normal cost for the personal accommodation.
