Medical Elevator?

[Corduroy Frog]

Client built house 25-30 years ago, with a downstairs garage for parking, and a staircase up to the living area. In years gone by, husband and wife would scramble up these stairs with the effortlessness of youth.

This past year the wife underwent knee surgery, and her recovery has been less than stellar. Ascent up the stairs today is slow and often painful. They are considering building an elevator from the basement to the living area. This will be a substantial expenditure, significantly exceeding Sch A threshholds.

I am inviting discussion as to whether this qualifies as a deductible Medical Expense on Sch A. And whether the answer changes if there is a statement/recommendation from a doctor.

Any opinions??

[Jiggers]

Capital Expenses for Medical Reasons

See IRS Pub 502. There is a worksheet that shows how to calculate the medical deduction, if there is one.

As to the deductibility, I would want something from the doctor, and his estimation of length of disability.

If the disability is not permanent, I doubt if the IRS would accept this as a medical expense.

[JohnH]

If medically necessary, it's my recollection that the Schedule A medical deduction is the difference between the cost of the improvement and the increase in the FMV of the residence (if any) resulting from the improvement. (But that's strictly off the top of my head; sort of a knee-jerk reaction in keeping with the topic)

[Kram BergGold]

Asked and Answered

Jiggers and John H have it right.

[joanmcq]

I agree as well. But I'd wonder how much an elevator (if it is the usual seat-up-the-stairs variety) would add to the value of the property, if anything.

[erchess]

Record Keeping

How much expense are we talking about? I would want a letter from a doctor recommending whatever is done. That shouldn't cost much if anything. But I think I would ask a couple of real estate agents how much it was going to to increase the value of the house and depending on their answers and the amount of tax savings I might get a qualified real estate appraiser to give a written opinion. I'm not sure what the tipping point would be although I personally am reluctant to spend more than one or two percent of the tax savings documenting the situation.

[JohnH]

This is where the FMV issue becomes a little sticky for an "improvement" of this sort. If the house were later sold to another elderly couple, they might likely be willing to pay more for it BECAUSE it has an elevator. But if a subsequent buyer were a young couple with children, they might view the elevator as a hazard and downgrade the FMV by roughly the amount it would cost to REMOVE it. So the change in FMV is virtually unknown, but the cost of the elevator is known.

Maybe a good compromise would be to set the deduction as the cost of the fully installed elevator, minus half the installation cost as an allowance for putting the property back in its original condition. (I use half the installation cost on the assumption that demolition should take about half as long as installation) I think this splits the baby fairly.

In any event, it's all guesswork. About the only thing you can do is take a rational approach and hope it flies. And the doctor's statement would be an absolute precondition for any deduction, but that probably won't be hard to get. I think as the population ages, we may begin to see more of these type of issues come up in the future. (Some of us may even have these type of issues in OUR future...)

[veritas]

The cost of the

electricity for the elevator will be deductible.

[erchess]

Electricity

How are you going to prove how much electricity is involved, Veritas? The tax savings are not worth a separate meter for the elevator are they?

[veritas]

Just trying

to be helpful.

[erchess]

lol ok I get it

As much of a joker as I am I should notice when others are being funny. Still, that is what emoticons are for.

Sheesh I can't get an emoticon in. There I did it.

[veritas]

If possible

Client built house 25-30 years ago, with a downstairs garage for parking, and a staircase up to the living area. In years gone by, husband and wife would scramble up these stairs with the effortlessness of youth.

This past year the wife underwent knee surgery, and her recovery has been less than stellar. Ascent up the stairs today is slow and often painful. They are considering building an elevator from the basement to the living area. This will be a substantial expenditure, significantly exceeding Sch A threshholds.

I am inviting discussion as to whether this qualifies as a deductible Medical Expense on Sch A. And whether the answer changes if there is a statement/recommendation from a doctor.

Any opinions??

a lift would be the way to go. Assuming after a Doctor's examination and a prescription is given.

[JohnH]

He's keeping us current with electrifying commentary designed to generate more conversation.

[erchess]

Watch it JohnH

You're going to make me die laughing.

hee hee