Wood Flooring & tax write off????

[arihillfarm]

Please feel free to post any tips for reducing allergens!Last night I had a rough night at bedtime. I'm so trying to get dh to go through his junk and declutter. This weekend I plan on asking him to help me move the bed so i can vaccum under it. Do u have hypo allergen blankets or pillows? If so where is the best place to buy.

I'm at the point that I want any lil junk out of my house. I've been decluttering to eliminate and that even triggers my allergies from the dust. Dr. said this spring will be bad for people like me

Wal-Mart sells pillow covers for people with allergies. Those would probably cost less than new pillows and you'd still be able to use the pillows you like. Something else to look into is duct cleaning if you have central heat/AC. We don't have dust allergies, but I am allergic to seeing dust around my house. You can buy extra filters to go in your floor or wall registers in addition to the 3M Filtrete filters for the blower unit of your HVAC.

-Astrid

 

[lost*in*cyberspace]

The short answer is, yes, you can deduct it. However, that being said there is a sidenote to that.

It can be deducted if you have a note from your doctor that deems it medically necessary. You need to make sure that you have a note from your doctor. Even then however, the IRS can come back and ask why you are taking this as a deduction.

The key is that it has to be deemed medically necessary.

I work in an accounting office and asked my boss about this and that was the answer that she gave me. She's going to do some more research and if I find out anything different I will let you know.

I already posted a link to the specific IRS regulation which covers this issue. Trying to claim this as a deduction is a bit more involved than getting a note from your doctor.

As for allergy proofing your home, it depends on your allergies. Generally, concentrate on your bedroom - get rid of anything with feathers. Use allergy protection mattress and pillow covers. Remove dust catchers - stuffed animals, heavy drapes, wall hangings. These suggestions are just to get you started. I have never seen an allergist who doesn't have hand-outs with instructions for allergy proofing. There is also an immense amount of free information about this on the web. Good luck.

 

[mrsklamc]

That is correct. The problem would be that by the time you factor in all of the reductions to the deduction, it probably wouldn't result in any lower taxes.

I only saw the one reduction- the amount that it increases the value of your house...And with most appraisals, flooring doesn't really impact the value of your house.

OP, for us, the problem with deducting medical expenses is that you can only count those that exceed 7.5% of your AGI. So it's likely that a great deal of your flooring expense would go to that first 7.5%. But it has made a great difference in allergies in our house and in our extended families.

 

[ckpoodge]

Hi. First of all, let me say that I feel for you. My SIL has allergies and she gets really bad sometimes.

You can not deduct flooring for medical purposes. However, if you were to sell your home, you can include the cost of the flooring as a home improvement, which would reduce any gain on your house. This will not be an issue unless you sell your house for over $250,000 than what you paid for it, and in this economy, good luck with that.

On the other side, you can deduct SALES TAX that you pay for the flooring, if it is allowed as an itemized deduction for 2012. There is a sales tax deduction allowed for this year for sales taxes paid in 2011.

So keep your receipts and hope for the best.

Good luck.

 

[mrsklamc]

You can not deduct flooring for medical purposes.

Have you not read the thread? It's already been established that per IRS regulations, she can under certain circumstances.

 

[marie1203]

As many said the answer is no. I have allergies and asthma and we had our floors done about 3 years ago and no tax right off. I must say I hate carpet so I was happy with the outcome and from now on we will not have a house with carpet I love my floors.

 

[mrsklamc]

As many said the answer is no.

A link to the section of the IRS website has been posted that clearly says the answer is yes. So 'many' can say what they want but the IRS wins out over folks on a message board.

 

[mistysue]

Wal-Mart sells pillow covers for people with allergies. Those would probably cost less than new pillows and you'd still be able to use the pillows you like. Something else to look into is duct cleaning if you have central heat/AC. We don't have dust allergies, but I am allergic to seeing dust around my house. You can buy extra filters to go in your floor or wall registers in addition to the 3M Filtrete filters for the blower unit of your HVAC.

-Astrid

Just FYI- our local news does a story every so often about duct cleaning. Not only does it not really help, it can actually make things worse because they are taking settled debris and spreading it around your house. My sister had it done once and they told her it's supposed to be repeated every 3 months... so we could redo our floors every few years or get the ducts cleaned regularly which still doesn't address the textiles that are breeding the dust...

Our allergist also smiled to himself when I asked about filters. They don't do anything significant at least for dust and mold. His response was that if you have carpet then replacing that can be huge (depending on the specific allergy, carpet harbors dust and mold) but as far as trying to filter the air for dust you basically need one of the top of the line purifiers and you need one for every single room in the house to help. A lot of dust comes from human skin/hair, dust mites, their feces and dirt that people actually carry in.
If your issues are pollen then the filters on your HVAC system probably do much more good since those aren't bred inside your house.

 

[Kathi OD]

A link to the section of the IRS website has been posted that clearly says the answer is yes. So 'many' can say what they want but the IRS wins out over folks on a message board.

but ... but ... that makes sense, and we all know things that make sense aren't much fun!

 

[mrsklamc]

but ... but ... that makes sense, and we all know things that make sense aren't much fun!

Oh! Thank you! I was really trying to figure out why this is the 3rd thread I've been on in a week where people continued to argue that FACTS were false! It's because they are no fun!!!

 

[cfw213]

The way I read their info on capital expenses, if the allergies are disabling, the floors would be deductible to the extent that they do not improve the value of the home.

Ok, I'm a CPA so I'm hoping I can add something value to this conversation

The answer posted above is correct - if you were advised by your doctor that wood flooring would improve your allergies, then it would be tax deductible to the extent that it does not add value to your home.

What I would do, however, is get support from the doctor. You don't have to submit this with your tax return, but on the off chance that you get audited by the IRS, I would want to have support so that you won't owe the taxes if they found out that it wasn't supported by evidence.

Also, another person mentioned that you can only deduct medical expenses that are over 7.5% over you AGI, which is correct. Also, you can only deduct them if you also itemize - you can't deduct them if you take the standard deduction. I'm assuming since you own the house you have mortgage interest & real estate taxes, so you probably itemize anyway.

Let me know if I can be of any more assistance!