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Those of you who know how tax deductions work..

S

SeductivePig

Senior member
I have a degeneration of my L4-S5 spinal vertebrae, which makes sitting down very uncomfortable for me. I wanted to buy a Herman Miller chair, which costs upwards of $1100, and use it at my place of work to hopefully alleviate some of the pain.

Is this considered a business expense, and if so, can my company deduct this for their taxes if I ask them to pay? Would they even get much of a discount by claiming it as a deduction?
 
Is this considered a business expense, and if so, can my company deduct this for their taxes if I ask them to pay? Would they even get much of a discount by claiming it as a deduction
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yes

their benefit = cost * effective tax rate, assuming they pay taxes.
 
Unless you have a doctor's note prescribing the particular chair as a remedy for pain, it's not a medical expense, nor is it something your employer is likely to pay for as such. That said, my understanding is that it is a business expense if the company buys it and you use it 100% for work.

Just remember that I'm not an accountant, tax expert or even a very learned person on these kinds of things. Maybe you should consult your company's accountant/CPA?
 
If you can produce a doctor's note for your HR department, your company will pay for it.
 
Slew Foot said:
If its disabling and you get a doctors note, they have to buy one for you per the ADA.
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Well it's not disabling, but it is painful. The degeneration was confirmed through x-rays long back.

Ns1 said:
yes

their benefit = cost * effective tax rate, assuming they pay taxes.
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Wow. So they'd pay about $300..

Paladin3 said:
Unless you have a doctor's note prescribing the particular chair as a remedy for pain, it's not a medical expense, nor is it something your employer is likely to pay for as such. That said, my understanding is that it is a business expense if the company buys it and you use it 100% for work.

Just remember that I'm not an accountant, tax expert or even a very learned person on these kinds of things. Maybe you should consult your company's accountant/CPA?
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What if I asked my employer to buy it, and I paid them back? I could probably get a note from my doctor but I'd like to approach this as if I didn't have that option.
I am close to the higher ups in my company so I'd have no trouble convincing them that I need it, if I wanted to pay for it.
 
Ns1 said:
No, they pay $1100. They will also pay ($1100 * effective tax rate) less in taxes.

Thus, the net cost = $1100 less tax benefit, or about $800 according to what you posted.
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Hmm.. I have doubts they'd pay that if I asked. Hypothetically if I bought in a doctors note saying I need the chair, would I be looked down upon for it?

I know that's a subjective question based on the nature of the employer, but generally speaking, is that something that most employers wouldn't appreciate, or is it something that they are sympathetic to?
 
crazypraveen said:
Hmm.. I have doubts they'd pay that if I asked. Hypothetically if I bought in a doctors note saying I need the chair, would I be looked down upon for it?

I know that's a subjective question based on the nature of the employer, but generally speaking, is that something that most employers wouldn't appreciate, or is it something that they are sympathetic to?
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I would think the employer would buy you the most cost effective chair that would bring you pain relief (ie something better than what you have right now), and not the $1100 rolex of chairs. Of course, if the $1100 rolex of chairs is the only one that can bring pain relief...

For reference, I got my company to buy me a $500 standing desk accessory.
 
I have four discs suffering from severe disc degeneration with three of them herniated. I got several cortisone shots in the back. I just use one of these and sit up properly.

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Depending on how awesome your company is. My wife's new job had a mandatory ergonomic evaluation and they paid about $600 for chairs and lifts and other random things for her.
 
Cheaper (and possibly easier) for them to just get rid of you...Once they start buying fancy-schmancy chairs for one person...everyone else will pop up with back problems that require fancy-schmancy new chairs too...
 
Like people said above the company would have to replace your chair or add some sort of accessorie but they would NOT have to buy you that specific chair.
 
Talk to HR. If you don't ask, then you certainly won't get it. Don't offer to pay for anything or discuss tax credits, unless they bring it up. Since you are obviously not their accountant, it's not your job to figure all that out. Your message should be clear, stating the problem, the impact on your work and what you believe to be the solution. They may want to try something else, which might work as well or better. I had a Herman Miller chair for 5 years that I stayed with my employer. While it was helpful, it wasn't a perfect solution.

Will they look down upon you? I don't see why, unless you have other issues with your employer.
 
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By the way, the title to this thread is very poor. Should say something like back problems at the office and looking for a solution. I can see a lot of people passing over this "tax" thread who might be able to offer up a better solution.
 
Paladin3 said:
Unless you have a doctor's note prescribing the particular chair as a remedy for pain, it's not a medical expense, nor is it something your employer is likely to pay for as such. That said, my understanding is that it is a business expense if the company buys it and you use it 100% for work.

Just remember that I'm not an accountant, tax expert or even a very learned person on these kinds of things. Maybe you should consult your company's accountant/CPA?
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I have a lot of neck pain and my job bought me a nice chair ($1500) with no issues, so its not unheard of
 
crazypraveen said:
I have a degeneration of my L4-S5 spinal vertebrae, which makes sitting down very uncomfortable for me. I wanted to buy a Herman Miller chair, which costs upwards of $1100, and use it at my place of work to hopefully alleviate some of the pain.

Is this considered a business expense, and if so, can my company deduct this for their taxes if I ask them to pay? Would they even get much of a discount by claiming it as a deduction?
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Have you actually used one of these chairs? I have one of them, don't care for them all that much. I know people who have had back problems, these chairs didn't help with them at all. I actually recommend AGAINST these chairs based upon my experience with them. I think they're overpriced uncomfortable crap. I've yet to meet anybody who actually likes them all that much.
 
I have some issues and Im going sit/stand desk. You can have a bad posture when sitting if you arent sitting.
 
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