Taxes, breastfeeding supplies & confusion
Posted February 14th, 2012 by Ashley Boyd
Breast pumps are tax deductible but what about storage bags? The bottles? That nursing pillow?
With just two months left before April 15th, millions of Americans like me are waking up to the reality that we’ve got to gather those piles of receipts and hunker down with that dreaded tax return.
Last year at about this time, breastfeeding mothers like me rejoiced when the IRS reversed a previous decision and declared that breastfeeding supplies would be tax deductible. The decision came after 25,000 people signed MomsRising’s petition to the IRS and 43 members of Congress appealed to the IRS to reconsider its initial decision.
I was (and am still) excited that the IRS reversed it’s decision but I’m left asking, what does that really mean, you know for me and my receipts?
Here’s exactly what the IRS decision states:
After reviewing this matter, we have concluded that breast pumps and supplies that assist lactation are medical care under section 213(d) of the Internal Revenue Code (the Code) because they are for the purpose of affecting a structure or function of the body of the lactating woman. Therefore, if taxpayers meet the remaining requirements of section 213(a) of the Code, expenses they paid for breast pumps and supplies that assist lactation are deductible medical expenses. These expenses will qualify as medical care expenses reimbursable under a flexible health spending account.
Still have questions (I do!)? Ask your questions now!
We’ve contacted the IRS and they have agreed to review our questions and provide answers back. We’ll publish those answers so you are clear long before tax day comes.
What questions do you have about how and what you can deduct as part of the new IRS breastfeeding rule? Tell us in the comments! We’ll forward your comments to the IRS on Friday, February 17th. So ask away!
3 Comments
March 15, 2012 at 11:37 pm by ValeKinda of along the lines of what coastinganon was sainyg… I think the whole “to breastfeed or not to breastfeed” issue is, for most moms, the first time when you really have to pick your battles re: your LO.No parent is able to do everything they’d like to/for/with their child. It’s just not possible. And I think that as your kid gets older, you probably get more accustomed to the fact that you have limited time, money, energy, sanity… and therefore you sometimes have to say “Well, while it would probably be great for little Billy’s cognitive development if I were to sit here and show him stimulating high-contrast flash cards while singing nursery rhymes in Mandarin, I think that instead I will stick him in his swing while I take a shower and check Facebook for thirty minutes, after which I will be a much more excited mother and all-around pleasant person.”And I don’t know about you other first-time moms, but I was a crazy person those first few weeks post-partum, and it was really easy to get caught up in the idea that I still could do anything and everything that I’d ever wanted for my child! It wasn’t too late! I could breastfeed and cloth diaper and do EC and make him bilingual and engender a love of vegetables and classical music!And while I can still catch up on the vegetables and Mozart, breastfeeding is a “do it now or forever hold your peace (at least with this child)” kind of thing. And it really sucks to want to breastfeed and then face all kinds of challenges and think “really? I’m failing at something ALREADY?” And I really, really, really do not believe that choosing to formula feed is “failing”, but I do think that it’s easy to feel like it is in those first couple weeks if it’s something that you’d really wanted to do.
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February 14, 2012 at 2:35 pm by Ashley BoydGreat question! We’ll investigate that too! Stay tuned.
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February 14, 2012 at 1:46 pm by MerrieGreat news! I think I remember reading that insurers are supposed to cover breastfeeding supplies once the Affordable Care Act is fully implemented. Can you post any details about that? Thanks!
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