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Article: IRS Figures Weight Loss Programs into Tax Deductible Medical Expenses.
- Article from:
- PR Newswire
- Article date:
- December 18, 2000
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WASHINGTON, Dec. 18 /PRNewswire/ --
This year, for the first time, taxpayers can deduct the cost of weight loss programs as a medical expense. The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) has revised its policy to give tax relief to many individuals who pay out-of-pocket for weight loss programs.
"Treatment for weight loss has been ignored for too long," said Richard Atkinson, M.D., president of the American Obesity Association (AOA). The IRS states in its new policy that "you can include in medical expenses the cost of a weight-loss program undertaken at a physician's direction to treat an existing disease (such as heart disease). But you cannot include the cost ...