My dog guards the truck while I sleep, can I claim her as a tax deduction?
"Can I claim my dog as a tax deduction" is a common questioned posed to tax professionals by long-haul truckers. Every pet owner claims their animal is a member of the family and they are an essential companion for thousands of truckers.
Prior to 1987 when the IRS first required dependent Social Security Numbers it was not uncommon for taxpayers to claim their pets as dependents.
U.S. pet owners spent an estimated $60 billion in 2015 on their animals.
It understandable that taxpayers may want to recoup some of their pet expenses with a creative medical expense tax deduction[i]. To counter the urge to claim Fido as a tax deduction the IRS has promulgated guidance on what type of animals qualify.
Tax Law Discussion
A review of IRC § 213 is required to answer the question, "Can I use my dog as a tax deduction?". The costs of buying, training, and maintaining a service animal to assist an individual with mental disabilities may qualify as medical care if the taxpayer can establish that the taxpayer is using the service animal primarily for medical care to alleviate a mental defect or illness and that the taxpayer would not have paid the expenses but for the disease or illness.
IRS Chief Counsel Note:
A taxpayer who claims that an expense of a peculiarly personal nature is primarily for medical care must establish that fact. The courts have looked toward objective factors to determine whether an otherwise personal expense is for medical care:
the taxpayer’s motive or purpose for making the expenditure,
whether a physician has diagnosed a medical condition and recommended the item as treatment or mitigation,
linkage between the treatment and the illness, treatment effectiveness, and proximity in time to the onset or recurrence of a disease.
Havey v. Commissioner, 12 T.C. 409 (1949).
The taxpayer also must establish that the expense would not have been paid “but for” the disease or illness.
A personal expense is not deductible as medical care if the taxpayer would have paid the expense even in the absence of a medical condition. Commissioner v. Jacobs, 62 T.C. 813 (1974). [ii]
How Much of the Expenses Can You Deduct?
You can include in medical expenses:
the costs of buying, training, and maintaining a guide dog or other service animal
to assist a visually impaired or hearing disabled person, or a person with other physical disabilities.
In general, this includes any costs, such as food, grooming, and veterinary care, incurred in maintaining the health and vitality of the service animal so that it may perform its duties.
Where to claim the deduction?
Generally, you can deduct on Schedule A, Itemized Deductions (Form 1040) only the amount of your medical and dental expenses that is more than 7.5% of your adjusted gross income (AGI). However, with tax reform drastically increasing the Standard Deduction (2022: $12,950 Single, $25,900 Married) most taxpayers will not have sufficient itemized deductions to warrant pursuing a tax break for their pet expenses.
Example:
AGI of $50,000
You spent $10,000 on service animal expenses
7.5% of $50,000 = $3,750
$10,000 - $3,750 = $6,250 deduction for service animal related expenses
A business cannot claim a deduction for a guide dog or other service animal
Can a business deduct the expenses associated with a Guard Dog?
Can I use my dog as a tax deduction if it guards my truck? The absence of specific guidance on guard dogs from IRS compels a taxpayer to evaluate the appropriateness of claiming a tax deduction for expenses related to a guard dog used to protect a truck that is constantly on the move as opposed to a drop-yard or terminal. Kay Bell writing for Bankrate.com provided a great analysis,
“That “Beware of dog” sign in your business’s window is no idle threat. Break-ins have stopped since you set up a place for your Rottweiler to stay overnight. In this case, the IRS would likely be amenable to business deduction claims of the animal’s work-related expenses.
Standard business deduction rules still apply, notably that the cost of keeping an animal on work premises is ordinary and necessary in your line of business. Once you show that, the dollars spent each year keeping your pooch in good guard condition — food, vet bills and training — would be deductible as a business expense.
As with all deductions, be prepared to provide full and accurate records of your animal’s hours on the job. You’ll also find your tax claim more acceptable when you demonstrate how the animal protects your livelihood inventory. In addition, as is often the case with business property, the dog must be depreciated, a way of allocating its cost over its useful life for IRS purposes.
Keep in mind, too, that your claims carry more weight when your pet is a breed that’s typically used for such jobs. So even though your Chihuahua has a loud bark, your tax claim is more credible if your guard dog is a German shepherd, Doberman pinscher or a similar imposing breed”.[iv]
Conclusion
Can I use my dog as a tax deduction? Maybe. Every pet owner claims their animal is a member of the family and an essential companion for thousands of long-haul truckers. The IRS disagrees. It understandable that taxpayers may want to recoup some of their pet expenses with a tax deduction, but with the overall value of the deduction is limited due to the 7.5% of AGI offsetting most expenses. Furthermore, extensive rules have been promulgated to insure only qualifying animal expenses can be deducted and taxpayers risk the wrath of the IRS if they get too creative interpreting those regulations.
Have a tax question? Contact Mark W. Sullivan, EA or request a free consultation HERE
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Disclaimer: This article is for information purposes only and cannot be cited as precedent or relied upon in a tax dispute before the IRS.
[i] 2014 American Pet Producers Association market study
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