Tax Help - "Sorry Jenny Craig, Those Meals Aren't Deductible!"

How many of you have seen and been lured into all those TV “lose weight quick with our meals” commercials?

With obesity being one of the top diseases facing Americans today, many folks are looking for ways to deduct the high costs of those meals on their tax returns. But the IRS has their own thoughts on the deductiblity of those costs.

IRS Information Letter 2007-0037 explains that meal replacements and dietary supplements to help people reduce their weight cannot be deducted as medical expenses because they are substitutes for the food individuals normally consume and the cost of food is a nondeductible personal expense.

So for all of you career dieters, your efforts are in vein to try and supplement what you’ve expended with a deduction.