cpap deduction

When you go for your DOT physical and the doctor gives you a 3 month card because under the new federal physical criteria he/she suspects you have sleep apnea, you have to go take a mandated sleep study. If the results present you have sleep apnea, the company can, and some will, require you to use a cpap machine as a company requirement. The companies that require it will also track the use of the machine on a weekly or monthly basis to make sure you are using it, if not you violate their company policy and go to work some place else. I know several drivers this has happened to and a few who just couldn't get used to the machine and were terminated as such. As far as the tax deduction, that I don't know. Seems you could deduct it as an expense due to the fact it is required for employment. Try it and see, worst case is you get an audit and have to pay a few bucks back to the feds.

 

My wife is a tax accountant and I've been on CPAP for 11 years now.


A CPAP is NOT deductible as employment related.

It has to go under medical.


Sorry... that's the IRS' rules.

 

It's not the company it is (and has been for years) the FMCSA. Sleep apnea is a disqualifying condition to hold a DOT medical card unless you are under current and effective treatment (ie using a CPAP at least 4 hours per night 70% of the nights as confirmed by a CPAP data download).

How the heck they know you have sleep apnea is another question. HIPPA (Health Information Privacy and Portability Act) gives everyone confidentiality in medical treatment information. Many trucking companies and their contracted DOT medical and sleep apnea testing and treatment firm think (but are wrong) that there is a HIPPA exemption for DOT medical issues.

You as a driver are required to disclose fully and completely any and all medical treatment or diagnosis you may have had to the DOT medical examiner. If you have sleep apnea the DOT medical examiner won't give you a medical card unless you are under current and effective treatment (complioant on CPAP).

There is another law the Americans with Disabilities Act as Amended (ADAA) that also comes in here. Companies can not fire you for having sleep apnea nor can they take any negative personell action due to your having sleep apnea (if you are under current and effective treatment).

There is LOTs of stuff about this topic that drivers hear truck stop myths about. I try when I have time to get correct information out.

 

Just an FYI

Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (aka HIPAA) doesn't apply to the FMCSA regulations, state regulatory agencies that enforce said regulations or carriers that are charged with maintaining driver's records, the sharing of medical records in the course of employment is permitted. HIPAA is for medical providers and insurance companies in regards of the patient's medical records. you fill out that long form, you are giving permission to have that medical info used to determine your ability to drive, hence employed with a carrier.

The FMCSA site has this FAQ posted ...

37. Are the DOT medical examinations covered by HIPAA?

Regulatory requirements take precedence over the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) of 1996. There are potential subtle interpretations that can cause significant problems for the Medical Examiner. What information must or can be turned over to the carrier is a legal issue, and if in doubt, the examiner should obtain a legal opinion. Federal Motor Carrier Safety Regulation 391.43 does not address or prohibit the sharing of medical information by Medical Examiners.

Citing why we are exempt in the HIPAA law is I think covered under 45 CFR 164.514(d).

As for the ADA, this specific issue won't be covered under the act. The EEOC has already given a guideline about this issue through their legal arm. The issue boils down to a significant risk of substantial harm that can happen to the public or the person and prevention of that risk. In this case the sleep apnea treatment is there to mitigate the issues with fatigue as a requirement of employment under the FMCSA regulations. The carrier has an obligation to ensure they follow the regulations by the FMCSA and the ADA can't trump that obligation. If you wonder where I'm getting this, it is coming from the EEOC.

I've been through all of this in the past because of my former carrier. The entire sleep apnea thing is a sham, and the way this all started was because of a study of accidents by U of V in the early 90's. the university got a grant to answer the question if accidents were caused by fatigue. Not one truck accident was included in the original report, and the hole in the study was there were no questions about sleep, sleep apnea or fatigue by the investigators of the accidents in the report - only assumptions.

 

In order for a medical device to be deductible, it must be prescribed by a physician. Otherwise, it is not deductible.

 

The Cpap is prescribed, because it comes with prescription of pressure to be used determined by doctor.

 

Yes... a CPAP is decuctible as a medical expence subject to limitation..

It is not decuctible as a business expence.