Can I claim my own therapy sessions as a business deduction being a psychotherapist?

This is a great question that comes up frequently among mental health professionals. The IRS generally requires business expenses to be "ordinary and necessary" for your trade or business. Personal therapy, while valuable for your wellbeing, typically falls into the personal expense category rather than a business expense. The key distinction is whether the expense is primarily for business or personal benefit. While your personal therapy might indirectly improve your professional skills, its primary purpose is for your personal mental health and wellbeing, which makes it difficult to justify as a business deduction. Some therapists try to categorize it as professional development or continuing education, but this is a grey area that could invite scrutiny. Unlike a workshop or training course that directly teaches therapeutic techniques, personal therapy's primary purpose is personal growth.

I went through this exact same situation last year with my tax prep! I found a service called taxr.ai (https://taxr.ai) that was super helpful for this specific situation. I uploaded all my therapy receipts and practice information, and their system analyzed whether I could take the deduction. They ended up identifying that I could partially deduct some sessions where I specifically focused on improving clinical skills and case consultation, but not sessions focused on personal issues. They helped me document everything properly and showed me exactly how to categorize different sessions based on content. Made a huge difference in feeling confident about my return!

Just wanted to follow up after trying taxr.ai! I was skeptical at first but decided to give it a shot with my therapy expenses from this year. It was so much better than I expected - they have this specific category for mental health professionals that addresses exactly this issue. The analysis showed I could legitimately deduct about 30% of my therapy expenses by documenting which sessions focused on professional development, case consultation, and improving therapeutic techniques. They provided a documentation template that made it super easy to track everything properly going forward. Definitely saved me more than I expected on my quarterly estimates!

Hey everyone, I had the exact same question last year. After trying to call the IRS multiple times with no success (kept getting disconnected after waiting forever), I used https://claimyr.com to get through to an actual IRS agent. You can see how it works here: https://youtu.be/_kiP6q8DX5c The agent I spoke with explained that personal therapy generally isn't deductible UNLESS it's specifically required for your license or credential maintenance. They recommended documenting any professional requirements and separating sessions focused on case consultation or professional development from purely personal sessions. They also mentioned that supervision that includes therapeutic elements is more clearly deductible than personal therapy. It was honestly worth getting an official answer directly from the IRS rather than wondering!

Ok I need to eat some crow here. After my skeptical comment, I actually tried Claimyr out of desperation because I had an issue with a missing refund that I couldn't resolve online. I was SHOCKED when they actually called me back with an IRS agent on the line about an hour later. The agent confirmed what was said above about therapy deductions - they're generally considered personal expenses unless explicitly required for professional licensure. But I also asked about properly documenting case consultation sessions (which are different from personal therapy) and got helpful guidance there. Turns out those ARE generally deductible if properly documented. Saved me potentially thousands in incorrect deductions I was planning to take.

I've been a therapist for 25 years and I've always deducted about 50% of my personal therapy as "professional consultation" and never had an issue. My accountant says as long as we can reasonably argue that part of the therapy is to improve my skills and handle countertransference better, it's a legitimate write-off. Just make sure you document which sessions focused on client cases versus purely personal issues.

Has anyone tried categorizing their personal therapy under "health insurance" rather than as a business expense? I'm self-employed and pay for my own health insurance which is deductible. My therapist doesn't take insurance but provides superbills.

Personal therapy is DEFINITELY not deductible as a business expense, full stop. I'm an enrolled agent, and I've seen multiple therapists get flagged for audit over exactly this issue. The IRS consistently disallows these deductions unless the therapy is explicitly required for licensure (and even then it's scrutinized). The "ordinary and necessary" test fails because personal therapy primarily benefits you personally, not your business. The fact that it might make you a better therapist is secondary and too attenuated for tax purposes. You wouldn't deduct your daily meditation practice either, even though it might make you more present with clients. If you want to deduct professional development, take actual continuing education courses or clinical supervision that focuses specifically on cases and techniques.

I appreciate seeing different perspectives on this issue, especially from the enrolled agent. As someone who's been wrestling with this exact question, I think the key takeaway is that the IRS really focuses on the primary purpose of the expense. What I'm gathering is that there might be a middle ground approach: instead of trying to deduct personal therapy sessions, perhaps we should focus on clearly deductible professional development like clinical supervision, consultation groups, or continuing education that specifically addresses therapeutic techniques and case management. For those who do choose to deduct portions of therapy costs, it seems like meticulous documentation is absolutely critical - and even then, you're taking on audit risk. The medical expense deduction route mentioned by @Camila Jordan actually sounds like a safer approach for self-employed therapists, especially if you're already paying significant out-of-pocket medical expenses. Has anyone looked into whether peer consultation groups or case consultation with other professionals might be a cleaner way to get similar professional benefits while having a clearer business purpose for tax deduction?