Service Dog-Related Expenses Count as Medical Expenses

At least, they do according to many government agencies, including the Social Security Administration, the Internal Revenue Service, the Department of Housing and Urban Development, and the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services (the current name for the state welfare agency in Ohio, which seems a bit of misnomer to me, since I have neither a family nor a job but still require services from that agency).  This means you can deduct service dog-related expenses from your taxes along with any other medical expenses (if you itemize when you do your taxes, and if your medical expenses total more than a certain percent of your income; talk to an accountant or your tax preparer, though, don't take tax advice from me!).  It means you get lower rent if you qualify for subsidized housing with the Department of Housing and Urban Development and you may get more in food stamps and your Medicaid spend down may be lower.  Those agencies adjust your income by deducting certain expenses, like medical expenses, when determining how much assistance you qualify for.  So does the Social Security Administration, if you receive SSI and return to work under the Ticket to Work plan.

When I moved a couple months ago, I moved from one county to another withing the same state.  I guess because efficiency is not something valued by my state government, I had to reapply for Medicaid in the new county.  This meant I ended up having no Medicaid coverage at all for almost two months and that a caseworker had to spent time handling my application and reviewing all my documentation, even though my income had not changed and I had only moved 30 miles from where I used to live.  There are your tax dollars at work.

Since I had to reapply, I decided to provide verification of all my service-dog related expenses because I had not done so where I previously lived (because it was a pain in the butt to do so and I am lazy) and I expected that by doing so, I would qualify for some food stamps and that my Medicaid spend down would go down.  A Medicaid spend down, if you're not familiar with the concept, is like a deductible that must be met each month before your Medicaid kicks in.  My spend down was$538.  Yes, that meant the state of Ohio felt it was reasonable for me to spend $538 out of my pocket each month on medical bills, and then the state would cover the rest.

So I provided all the paperwork I could gather up, including:

• copies of receipts for dog food, dog treats, and dog toys
• copies of receipts from veterinary care, including the monthly flea prevention stuff I buy from the vet and then apply myself
• copies of cancelled checks from payments I've made myself to the program I got Isaac from (money that's been donated to help pay for Isaac doesn't count, of course)
• copies of cancelled checks for Isaac's dog walker
• an itemized list breaking down the average expense for each service-dog related item per month
• a copy of the certificate from Isaac's program, stating he is a trained service dog

Based on my medical expenses, which do include some other expenses but are mostly related to Isaac at the moment, my spend down dropped from $538 a month to just $158.  That was worth the paperwork hassle, I'd say.