The tax code is long and complicated and oftentimes, taxpayers do not know what deductions or credits are available, which means they cannot take advantage of possible savings.

With so many changes under the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act and the 2019 SECURE Act now in place, changes have been made regarding the deductibility of expenses that both business and individual taxpayers may not be aware of.

A recent article by CPA Practice Advisor helps to determine if some expenses are deductible.

Individual Deductions

Many individual taxpayers are aware that they can deduct the cost of their visits to the doctor’s office or the cost of prescription drugs, but many people are unaware of the deductibility of some of the following costs:

• Inpatient treatment for alcoholism.
• Cosmetic surgery necessary to improve a deformity arising from a congenital abnormality, personal injury or disfiguring disease.
• Fertility enhancement.
• Certain smoking cessation programs.
• Weight loss treatment for a specific disease diagnosed by a doctor including obesity, hypertension or heart disease.

The following medically related remain nondeductible medical expenses:

• Cosmetic surgery to improve appearances.
• Health club dues.
• Nonprescription drugs.
• General weight loss programs.

Besides medical expenses, there are many miscellaneous expenses the IRS will allow taxpayers to deduct. Following is a list of some of these deductible items:

• Casualty and theft losses on income-producing property such as stocks, notes, bonds, gold, silver, vacant lots and works of art.
• Gambling losses to the extent of gambling winnings.
• Home office deductions.
• Losses from Ponzi-type investment schemes.

Under the TCJA, the following expenses became and/or remain nondeductible:

• Political campaign expenses.
• Political contributions.
• Lobbying expenses.
• Club dues.
• Commuting expenses.
• Fines and
• Unreimbursed employee expenses.

Note – This is only a partial list of potential deductible expenses, and deductions may not apply to all situations. 

Please contact a Zinner & Co. Tax Advisor to discuss what tax deductions you may be able to claim on your tax 2019 income tax return.