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Is Omega-3 a Tax Deductible Medical Expense?
Health care is expensive – and treatment is especially expensive. But the good thing is that not only has the FDA recognized omega-3 fish oil as a dietary supplement, the IRS has also noted its common use as a the powerful adjunct to many chronic treatment plans. Thus, your omega-3 supplement can be tax deductible.
Omega Cure, Omega Cookie, and Omega Cure Extra Strength are particularly potent sources of omega-3 fish oil, often recommended to patients by doctors to mitigate and alleviate cardiovascular and metabolic disorders, reduce aches, pains, stiffness and inflammation associated with certain illnesses and medical conditions. The IRS is aware that treatment preventive measures like the Omega Cure and Omega Cookie save health care costs, and so, with a little help from your doctor and other medical practitioners, you may be able to deduct your Omega3 Innovations products from your taxes as a medical expense.
There are two ways to make this possible: 1) if your medical expenses exceed 7.5% of your total income, you can directly deduct your fish oil source from your taxes; or 2), if you have (or are eligible to set up) one of four specific health and medical savings accounts, you can withdraw the money to pay for your fish oil and nutrient-rich omega-3 from there, tax-free.
First things first…
According to IRS Publication 502 Medical and Dental Expenses, “You cannot include in medical expenses the cost of nutritional supplements, vitamins, herbal supplements, ‘natural medicines,’ etc. unless they are recommended by a medical practitioner as treatment for a specific medical condition diagnosed by a physician.”
According to the IRS, a “medical practitioner” is any licensed/certified medical worker such as a Physician’s Assistant, MD, holistic or naturopathic practitioner, chiropractor, etc.
Sample Record of Medical Expenses
If you want to deduct from your taxes the cost of your Omega3 Innovations products:
Always consult with your Tax Advisor for up-to-date information on tax deductions. For the complete text of IRS Publication 502, go to: http://tinyurl.com/IRSPubs. Locate Publication 502 on the list – presently, it’s on the second page – and download it to your computer. In order to read the PDF document, you will need Adobe Reader. If you don’t already have this program on your computer, you can click here to go to a page where you can download it.
Sample Letter of Recommendation
If your health and medical expenses exceed 7.5% of your total income…
Click here to read a reader-friendly, easy-to-follow explanation of how to confirm that this is the status of your medical expenses. Once you have completed the diagnostic process described above, you simply need to add the total expenditure for Omega Cure, Omega Cookie, or Omega Passion to your other medical deductions.
If you have a health & medical savings account…
If your medical expenses are less than 7.5% of your total income, you have one other option. Four tax-free contribution “save it for a rainy day” programs allowed by the IRS are designed to give individuals tax advantages to offset the constantly rising costs of health care. These programs tend to be fairly liberal in deciding which health expenses are deductible.
These programs can help you save and withdraw tax-free money to pay for a variety of medical purposes, including omega-3 fish oil supplementation, provided you can qualify for them. They are a sort of “medical IRA” – a tax-exempt trust or custodial account that you set up with a qualified trustee (bank, insurance company or other organization that can set up IRAs) to pay or reimburse certain medical expenses you may incur. (Again, to confirm that the Omega Cure, Omega Cookie, or Omega Passion is a medical expense, go through the process described above – obtaining a diagnosis and a specific recommendation for high-dose omega-3 fish oil, and recording how much money you spend on Omega3 Innovations product thereafter.)
Money you or someone else deposits in these accounts is not considered part of your income, and disbursements, when made, are not taxed. No permission or authorization from the IRS is necessary to establish or use these accounts. Eligibility to qualify for each program varies slightly. Below are quick summaries of the four programs. For complete information see IRS Publication 969, Health Savings Accounts and Other Tax-Favored Health Plans (see http://tinyurl.com/IRSPubs). Consult with your Tax Advisor to obtain up-to-date information on these accounts.