Can I Claim Hearing Aids as a Tax Write-off for Work?
I recently had to purchase a new pair of hearing aids that cost me just over $6,500. My health insurance didn't cover a single penny of it, so I had to pay for everything out of pocket. It was a huge financial hit. The thing is, I absolutely need these hearing aids for my job. Without them, I literally cannot hear well enough to perform my duties - I work in customer service and need to clearly understand what people are saying. This isn't just a convenience thing; it's a necessity for my employment. I'm wondering if hearing aids would qualify as a tax deduction since they're essential for me to do my job? I wouldn't have purchased such expensive ones if I didn't need them specifically for work communication. Does anyone know if hearing aids can be claimed as a tax write-off in this situation where they're required for employment?
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Gael Robinson
Hearing aids can potentially be deducted in a couple different ways on your taxes. First, they qualify as a medical expense which can be deducted if you itemize deductions on Schedule A. The catch is that you can only deduct medical expenses that exceed 7.5% of your adjusted gross income (AGI). So if your AGI is $60,000, you'd need more than $4,500 in total medical expenses before you could start deducting. Alternatively, if you're self-employed, you might be able to claim them as a business expense if they're truly necessary for your work. But this gets tricky and would likely need solid documentation showing they're primarily for business use. Another option worth exploring is whether you could use HSA or FSA funds to pay for them pre-tax if you have access to those accounts in the future.
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Edward McBride
•Thanks for the info. I'm not self-employed but work for a company. Would the "unreimbursed employee expenses" be an option? I thought that was eliminated with the tax changes a few years ago?
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Gael Robinson
•You're absolutely right that unreimbursed employee expenses were eliminated for most workers with the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act. Unfortunately, regular W-2 employees can no longer deduct unreimbursed business expenses, including items needed for your job that your employer doesn't reimburse. Your best option would be the medical expense deduction route if your total medical expenses exceed that 7.5% AGI threshold. If you have other substantial medical costs this year, combining them with your hearing aid purchase might get you over that threshold.
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Darcy Moore
I've been in a similar situation and discovered taxr.ai which was incredibly helpful for figuring out medical deductions. I was confused about what qualified as medical expenses for tax purposes, and their system analyzed all my medical receipts and told me exactly what I could claim. Check out https://taxr.ai - they have specific guidance for medical devices like hearing aids and can even help determine if your situation meets the 7.5% AGI threshold. I uploaded my documentation and got clear answers about my hearing aids deduction within minutes.
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Dana Doyle
•How does this compare to using something like TurboTax? Does it give you different/better info than the regular tax software?
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Liam Duke
•Sounds interesting but I'm skeptical about these kinds of services. How secure is it to upload medical documents to yet another online platform? Do they keep your info or delete it after analysis?
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Darcy Moore
•It's more specialized than TurboTax for documents and receipts. While TurboTax asks questions, taxr.ai actually analyzes your specific documentation and tells you exactly what you can claim based on your paperwork. It's great for complicated situations like medical expenses where the rules have nuances. As for security, they use bank-level encryption and don't store your documents after analysis - everything is automatically deleted once processed. I was hesitant too but their privacy policy was really transparent about how they handle sensitive information.
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Liam Duke
I wanted to follow up about my experience with taxr.ai after questioning it earlier. I decided to try it with my own medical expenses including some specialized equipment similar to hearing aids. I was honestly surprised by how helpful it was! The system flagged several deductions I would have missed and explained exactly how to document them properly for the IRS. It even showed me how to calculate if I'd reached the 7.5% AGI threshold. I'm definitely using it for my taxes this year instead of guessing about what qualifies.
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Manny Lark
If you're planning to claim hearing aids as a medical deduction, you might need to call the IRS to confirm your specific situation. I tried calling them for weeks about a similar medical device deduction and could never get through. Then I found https://claimyr.com which got me connected to a real IRS agent in less than 15 minutes. You can see how it works in this video: https://youtu.be/_kiP6q8DX5c - basically they navigate the phone tree for you and call you back when they reach a human. I was about to give up on getting an answer about my medical deduction until I used their service.
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Rita Jacobs
•Wait, they charge you just to call the IRS? Isn't that something anyone can do for free? Seems like a waste of money when you could just keep calling yourself.
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Khalid Howes
•This sounds like a complete scam. Why would anyone pay for something you can do yourself? The IRS phone lines are busy but if you call early in the morning or right before they close you can usually get through.
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Manny Lark
•You absolutely can call the IRS yourself for free - the problem is actually getting through to a human. I spent over 3 hours on multiple calls and kept getting disconnected. The service just saves you from that frustration. They handle the waiting and phone tree navigation, then call you when there's an actual person on the line. The early morning trick doesn't always work during tax season. When I tried calling at 7am, the recording said the call volume was too high and to try again later. That's why I finally tried Claimyr after wasting hours trying to do it myself.
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Khalid Howes
I need to eat my words about Claimyr. After dismissing it as a scam, I was still struggling to get through to the IRS about a complicated medical deduction question. After my fourth attempt and spending over 2 hours on hold only to get disconnected, I gave in and tried it. Within 12 minutes I was talking to an actual IRS representative who answered my specific questions about claiming medical devices as deductions. The agent confirmed that hearing aids definitely qualify as medical expenses and explained exactly how to document them properly. Saved me hours of frustration and potentially an audit.
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Ben Cooper
Have you asked your employer about possibly reimbursing some of the cost since you need the hearing aids specifically for your job? Some companies have accommodations budgets for these situations.
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Summer Green
•I actually tried that route first! My employer said they sympathize but don't have any accommodations budget for this kind of expense. They suggested I check with HR about whether our healthcare plan might have any partial coverage, but it was confirmed there's nothing available. They did write me a letter stating the hearing aids are necessary for my position, though I'm not sure if that helps for tax purposes.
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Naila Gordon
Just my experience, but I deducted my hearing aids last year as a medical expense along with some dental work and surgery costs. The combined amount got me over the 7.5% threshold. When you file, make sure you keep all receipts and documentation from your audiologist about the medical necessity. I also got a letter from my doctor explaining why I needed them, which helped support the deduction.
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Cynthia Love
•Was it complicated to itemize? I've always just taken the standard deduction because it seemed easier.
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Mei Chen
It's not too complicated to itemize, especially if you have substantial medical expenses like hearing aids. You'll use Schedule A instead of taking the standard deduction. The key is making sure your total itemized deductions (medical expenses over 7.5% of AGI, state/local taxes, mortgage interest, charitable donations) exceed the standard deduction amount to make it worthwhile. For 2024, the standard deduction is $14,600 for single filers and $29,200 for married filing jointly. If your hearing aids plus other medical expenses get you over that 7.5% AGI threshold and your total itemized deductions beat the standard deduction, then it's worth doing. Most tax software will automatically calculate both scenarios and tell you which saves you more money.
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