Taxes

bottles of breast milk next to a baby
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Are Baby Supplies Tax Deductible?

Diapers, formula, & pumping equipment can really add up.

by Lindsay E. Mack
Updated: 
Originally Published: 

The love for your newborn baby is priceless, but all the gear you need to keep them happy gets pretty spendy. So when tax season rolls around, are baby supplies like diapers and formula tax deductible? It would be nice to get something back after splashing out on the crib, stroller, and carseat, after all.

To be frank: “Baby supplies are not tax-deductible,” Tim Yoder, Tax & Accounting Analyst at FitSmallBusiness, tells Romper. This goes for everyday necessities such as diapers and clothes. However, there are a few baby expenses that can make a difference when filing your taxes beyond the child tax credit you’ll receive if you had a baby during the tax year as well as the child care expenses you might be paying for.

Breastfeeding Supplies

“Baby supplies are not a tax deduction, however, breastfeeding supplies are a qualified medical expense that can be claimed as an itemized deduction,” Barbara Schreihans, a Certified Tax Strategist with a Masters in Taxation and owner of Your Tax Coach, explains to Romper. “Unfortunately, very few taxpayers can actually take advantage of the itemized medical expenses because medical expenses have to exceed 7.5% of adjusted gross income. For most of us, we are lucky enough that our medical bills do not exceed that number.” If you do have enough medical expenses to qualify for itemization, however, then tally up the cost of that breast pump.

Baby Medications

Keep track of any medications you have to purchase for Baby’s health. As it turns out, “over-the-counter medications for your baby can be purchased with money from your Health Savings Account (HSA) or Flexible Spending Account (FSA),” says Yoder. “Prior to 2020, you needed a doctor’s prescription to purchase OTC medicines with your HSA or FSA, but that is no longer required.” You don’t pay taxes on FSA, and using an HSA to pay for qualified medical expenses is also tax-free, per H&R Block.

All that infant gear adds up in a hurry, but there are a few ways to save on your kid’s needs at tax time. Although you can’t deduct most baby supplies on taxes, there’s a bit of a tax break for those necessities that qualify as medical expenses. Just remember that you do qualify for the $2,000 dependent credit, as Schreihans explains, so you can thank your baby for that.

Sources:

Tim Yoder, Tax & Accounting Analyst at FitSmallBusiness

Barbara Schreihans, a Certified Tax Strategist with a Masters in Taxation and owner of Your Tax Coach

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