How Your Pet Can Dig Up a Tax Deduction

Dan Caplinger
Feb 6th 2015 6:00AM

Americans love their pets, and they aren't afraid to open up their wallets to take care of them. Americans spent close to $60 billion on pet expenses during 2014, according to estimates from the American Pet Products Association. Between food, veterinary care and other supplies, it's easy for costs to add up.

As the dog days of tax season approach, one question that many people have is whether there's any way they can get any sort of tax break for their pet expenses. As outlandish as it might sound, there actually are some perfectly legal tax deductions you can claim from what you spend on your pets. Before turning to those deductions, let's first take a look at what you can't do with pet expenses.

Pet Dependent? Forget About It

The most obvious tax break that might tempt you is the personal exemption for dependents, which on your 2014 return will give you a reduction of $3,950 on your taxable income. Certainly, your dogs, cats or other pets rely on you for their survival. But the Internal Revenue Service takes the view that only human dependents can qualify for the valuable personal exemption.

Several other similarly enticing deductions also don't work. Veterinary care might cost you as much as a doctor's visit for yourself, but you're not allowed to deduct those vet charges as medical expenses on your tax return. Similarly, if you're traveling on business, you can't write off the costs of boarding your dog in a kennel as a travel expense.

When You Might Have a Legitimate Write-Off

Even if pets aren't the perfect tax breaks in all situations, there are limited circumstances in which you might be able to deduct some of their expenses. Here are a few:

1. If You Need a Guide Animal

Pet medical care isn't deductible, but if you need a guide animal for your ownhealth,