How does the IRS determine if Assisted Living is for Medical or Personal reasons?

pssmith1917 — Tue, 04 Jun 2019 20:17:13 GMT

The determination that Assisted Living is for medical pur...

MichaelMc — Tue, 04 Jun 2019 20:17:14 GMT

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)."

topic How does the IRS determine if Assisted Living is for Medical or Personal reasons? in Retirement tax questions

How does the IRS determine if Assisted Living is for Medical or Personal reasons?

The determination that Assisted Living is for medical pur...