Massage Chair

[Randall]

Client is a painter.  Wants to buy a massage chair to loosen his back before and after work.  Wants to know if it could be deductible as office furniture/equipment.  I'm doubtful.  Even on Sch A medical, probably would need a doctor's prescription.

 

 

[Catherine]

With a prescription, on Sch A.  

I had a guy who wanted to take his chiropractor visits off on his Sch C (carpenter).

[Gail in Virginia]

If he has a desk, he needs a chair.  How much more than a normal office chair is this going to cost?  It looks to me like he might be able to at least depreciate the part of the cost that relates to having an office chair for his desk.  If the massage part of it increases the cost/fmv appreciably, then that part would have to go on schedule A as a medical if prescribed by a doctor.  Of course, everything depends on how you look at it but I believe that I could defend that position on audit. 

[JohnH]

I agree.  If he has a desk, he needs a chair. I don't think the massage feature will qualify or disqualify it as a business deduction.  Surely an auditor wouldn't compare what he paid for it against an Office Depot $59 special.  Last time I visited a lawyer, I'll bet the chair he was sitting in cost more than all the furniture and desks in my office. I doubt he was worried about losing the deduction in an audit.

Edited June 19, 2015 by JohnH

[Randall]

Thanks for comments.

[easytax]

Just so you know ---- Medicare  says that should you purchase a "lift chair" recliner/stationary, etc. (helps you get up and down) is only partially considered medical --- lift part and the rest is "furniture" --- regardless of cost --- Medicare will only pay for $250-$351.00 toward a "lift chair".

 

Therefore  the massage part (depending on Dr. script) may not even be considered medical.        ALSO -- does the IRS put reasonable expense costs on furniture???  

 

[JohnH]

I think tying it to some dubious medical purpose is over-thinking it, and probably would fail the laugh test in an audit.  But I don't think it's necessary to go there in the first place.  This is a chair, period.  The fact that it has a massage feature is irrelevant, unless maybe that adds thousand of dollars to the cost.  How much does the massage chair cost, anyhow?

Most of us use chairs that have piston tubes that allow us to adjust height of the chair and/or spring mechanisms that allow us to adjust the resistance when we lean back. Those features aren't really "necessary", since we could just use a wooden chair with no adjustments, or maybe just a hard plastic chair that only costs $20 at K-Mart.

So where exactly is the line drawn with respect to what's deductible?  Besides, I'll bet the chair that the auditor sits in at his/her office to write up the audit report cost many times what the massage chair would cost, and based upon how the government throws money around, it might NOT even be any more useful than the $20 plastic version.

Edited June 21, 2015 by JohnH

[Don in Upstate NY]

This guy is a painter.  I see no discussion that would lead me to believe that he has a qualifying home office, or even a "business" desk. Sounds like he just wants a comfortable chair to relax in when he comes home from work.  That's a personal chair.

[MsTabbyKats]

If he didn't have an office....I doubt he would ask if it could be deductible as office furniture/equipment.

[JohnH]

This is an interesting line of thought.  Can one deduct a desk and chair (and possibly other admin assets) if they do not claim a home office deduction?  This assumes of course that the asset is used exclusively for business. 

Edited June 22, 2015 by JohnH

[ILLMAS]

He should just buy it and use it if it makes him feel better but I don't think it's ordinary or necessary for a business deduction.  But it's a good question.

[Catherine]

This is an interesting line of thought.  Can one deduct a desk and chair (and possibly other admin assets) if they do not claim a home office deduction?  This assumes of course that the asset is used exclusively for business. 

I don't see why not.  One can have a home office that is used overwhelmingly for business BUT does not meet the "solely and exclusively" test for home office deduction.  Facts and circumstances:  would the taxpayer have purchased the furniture and equipment if they did not do office work at home?  If not - then it is business use.

[Randall]

He should just buy it and use it if it makes him feel better but I don't think it's ordinary or necessary for a business deduction.  But it's a good question.

This is probably going to be the case.  The chair will not be conducive to sitting at a desk doing paper work.  He's been to a chiropractor but that hasn't helped much.  If the chair helps his back before and after a day's work, then it will be good for him, but not a business expense.

[JohnH]

Well, at least you can tell him he should be relieved to know we massaged the idea from every vantage point.

 

Edited June 22, 2015 by JohnH

[Abby Normal]

You might go for a partial deduction as listed property. If the work is hard on the painter's body and this chair allows him to work longer or faster, I could make a case for ordinary and necessary, at least partially.

[jklcpa]

If this chair is one that costs a couple of hundred and looks like any other upright office or desk chair that has some small component that vibrates, then I'd probably deduct it if the taxpayer is using it at a desk or table that he uses for performing administrative functions of the business, whether or not he has a home office deduction, and its cost would probably fall in the de minimus range.  Conversely, if this chair is one of those big cushy recliner types that cost thousands that doesn't at all lend itself to sitting at a desk or some other place where administrative functions of the business could be performed, then it is a personal expenditure.

I'd have a problem in claiming that one of those cushy recliner-type massage chairs was in any way "ordinary" in the context of "ordinary and necessary" for a painting business.

A good page on "ordinary and necessary".

 

 

 

Edited June 22, 2015 by jklcpa