The determination that Assisted Living is for medical purposes is governed by the following rules. Note the two-pronged test, that the individual must be chronically ill and that care is provided pursuant to a plan of care prescribed by a licensed health care practitioner. Assisted living arrangements not meeting both elements of this test would be non-deductible.
The following is taken from IRS Pub. 502 Medical and Dental
Expenses.
"Qualified Long-Term Care
Services
Qualified long-term care services are necessary diagnostic,
preventive, therapeutic, curing, treating, mitigating, rehabilitative services,
and maintenance and personal care services (defined later) that are:
- Required by a chronically ill individual, and
- Provided pursuant to a plan of care prescribed by a
licensed health care practitioner.
Chronically ill individual. An
individual is chronically ill if, within the previous 12 months, a licensed
health care practitioner has certified that the individual meets either of the
following descriptions.
1. He or she is unable to perform at least two activities of
daily living without substantial assistance from another individual for at
least 90 days, due to a loss of functional capacity. Activities of daily living
are eating, toileting, transferring, bathing, dressing, and continence.
2. He or she requires substantial supervision to be protected
from threats to health and safety due to severe cognitive impairment.
Maintenance and personal care
services. Maintenance or personal care services is care which has
as its primary purpose the providing of a chronically ill individual with
needed assistance with his or her disabilities (including protection from
threats to health and safety due to severe cognitive impairment)."
