Are Hearing Aids Tax Deductible?
Internal Revenue Service’s rules are as complicated as hearing aid stores would lead you to believe. They go to great lengths to persuade customers to pay thousands of dollars for similar hearing aids to what we sell here for less than $200 a pair.
Today, we tackle the question of whether hearing aids are tax deductible in 2020, or 2019 or 2021, for that matter. The good news is hearing aids do qualify for selective assistance, because Federal and Drug Administration regard them as medical equipment (but not personal sound amplification products).
If Hearing Aids Are Tax Deductible What Else Can I Claim?
The IRS lists the following medical expenses as potentially tax free in its Topic №502 advisory notice we link to below concerning medical deductibles in 2019, 20, and 2021 returns:
· Services by chiropractors, dentists, doctors, psychiatrists, psychologists, surgeons, and non-traditional medical practitioners
· Medically-based in-hospital and nursing home care, including meals and lodging charges
· In-patient and acupuncture therapy for drug or alcohol addiction, or participating in a smoking-cessation program
· Weight loss programs under medical control for listed diseases including obesity (but usually excluding diet foods and health clubs)
· Expenses related to contact lenses, crutches, false teeth, hearing aids, reading or prescription eyeglasses, and wheelchairs
· Guide dogs or other service animals to assist visually impaired or hearing disabled people, or people with other physical disabilities.
Self-employed people may also qualify for self-insured health insurance deductions. We believe it is unfair health insurance schemes don’t include hearing aids in primary benefits. Our founders created Blue Angels Hearing to help senior people address this problem.
How to Claim Your Tax Benefit from Internal Revenue Service
The IRS agrees hearing aid costs are partly deductible from 2021 tax returns, as well as 2020 and 2019 ones. However, hearing aids are not entirely tax free in the United States because IRS imposes limits.
Why Is There Only a Part Tax Refund for Hearing Aids in the United States?
It is possible to get free hearing aids in other countries, especially in the developing world. The U.S. National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders considers improving hearing ‘an urgent public health problem.’
The Institute co-conducted a study with National Institute on Aging, Department of Veterans Affairs, Food and Drug Administration, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the Department of Defense, and the Hearing Loss Association of America. Their research revealed:
· Approximately 15 percent of American adults, or 37.5 million people, report some degree of hearing loss.
· Only about one in four of those who could benefit from hearing aids have ever used them.
This must be causing unimaginable loss of quality of life for Americans straining to follow conversations or fathom what their grandkids are saying in their high-pitched, pre-pubescent voices. The combined study made the following recommendations, most of which appear to be still outstanding for serious attention:
· Agencies, organizations, and professionals should improve access to a wide range of hearing services and technologies
· They should identify and eliminate barriers to hearing health care using innovative new ways of improving hearing aid affordability
· They should reduce the disparities in access and delivery of hearing health care across all community settings
At Least Hearing Aids Are Partly Tax Deductible
According to Health Hearing, and other sources we consulted, the following applies to hearing aid deductibles for the 2020 tax season:
· They can only deduct the amount of their medical and dental expenses that is greater than 7.5% of their adjusted gross income
· In other words, as we understand it deaf people have to earn money, and spend it for what should be a primary benefit.
Perhaps It’s Time We Stood Together on This
Approximately 15 percent of American adults, or 37.5 million people, report some degree of hearing loss. That’s a sizable lobby group and capable of influencing American policy if it decided too. However, we for ourselves are not into politics. We just want people to have proper hearing they can afford.
The root cause of the problem, viewed from where we sit, is hearing aids are unnecessarily expensive, for reasons we explore in a related article below. Therefore, we made it our mission to bypass the cumbersome system and supply affordable digital hearing aids for less than $200 a pair.
You really ought to trial this option, especially because we have a 30-day return policy on all orders. Why spend more money on similar hearing aids only to deal with the hassle of getting a tax refund? Fly high and start hearing clearly again with Blue Angels Hearing.
More Interesting Facts
Why Do Hearing Aids Cost So Much
