Monitoring Fees/taxes

[willow14]

Hi all,

I have a question, which may have been asked before. Also, this question may be a REALLY dumb one, so forgive me if it sounds ridiculous.....but, can we claim the expenses that we pay for our monitoring program on our taxes? (UDS, counseling fees, etc)

Again, this may be a really bizzare question, but I went ahead and asked it anyway......lol :)

[1sttime]

I asked this as well to my monitor- it can be a qualified health expense- if I would have done it correctly I would have set up an HSA and had money in there to pay for these things. I tried to itemize the cost, and amazingly even my first year I didn't have enough to break through the requirements for a write off!

Talk to a tax person about this

[catsmeow1972, BSN, RN]

I am paraphrasing from memory, so please verify what I am saying, but my understanding is that much of the costs can be attributed to "unreimbursed employee expenses for carrying on your trade or business of being an employee." Likewise, legal fees, such as that spent on the attorney for arguing with the BON, if you did so are deductible. The pee tests are also deductible under health expenses. Check with your tax person to verify this, but i think i am correct.

After the ridiculous amount of money I have spent on this punishing endeavor, you better believe i am going to search out any means I can of recouping what I can.

[MandieDandy]

Hello, accountant here (new lpn grad). Only unreimbursed employee expenses related to your job are deductible. An example would be if you paid for your stethoscope. As the expenses you mentioned are required to retain your license, ability to practice, they do not qualify for a deduction under unreimbursed employee expenses. You can check if itemizing the amount under health expenses would decrease your tax liability. I would suggest speaking with a CPA or experienced tax preparer (not someone who took a six week course at B&B Block).

Hope this helps and good luck!