YOU MAY QUALIFY TO RECEIVE AN IRS TAX CREDIT FOR WEIGHT LOSS & SMOKING CESSATION HYPNOSIS
Tax laws passed in 2003 onwards allow a tax credit that reimburses up to 100% of the money you pay for for smoking cessation programs. If you are advised by a physician to lose weight, you can also be reimbursed up to 100% for weight loss hypnosis.
This is a tax credit – not a tax deduction, so that means 100% credit on your taxes! It’s almost as if your smoking cessation and weight loss hypnosis programs were free!
The information below is derived from pages 12 and 15 of IRS Publication 502 year 2003.
Stop-Smoking Programs
You can include in medical expenses amounts you pay for a program to stop smoking. However, you cannot include in medical expenses amounts you pay for drugs that do not require a prescription, such as nicotine gum or patches that are designed to help stop smoking.
Weight-Loss Programs
You can include in medical expenses amounts you pay to lose weight if it is a treatment for a specific disease diagnosed by a physician (such as obesity, hypertension, diabetes or heart disease). This includes fees you pay for membership in a weight reduction group and attendance at periodic meetings. You cannot include membership dues in a gym, health club, or spa as medical expenses, but you can include separate fees charged there for weight loss activities.
If you claim this credit, you cannot take the same expenses that you use to figure your health coverage tax credit into account in determining your:
• Medical and dental expenses on Schedule A (Form 1040)
• Self-employed health insurance deduction
• Archer Medical Savings Account (MSA) distributions.
Please note that the above should not be considered tax advice. Please confirm with your tax consultant for as you know, tax laws change.