CORRECTING and REPLACING Medically Supervised Weight Loss May Be Tax-Deductible

PHILADELPHIA--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Company website in seventh graph and ninth graph of release should read: www.PhilaSlim.com (sted www.PhilaSlim.org).

“We are pleased to report that many clients of our weight-loss program are eligible for this tax break”

The corrected release reads:

MEDICALLY SUPERVISED WEIGHT LOSS MAY BE TAX-DEDUCTIBLE

There is a relatively unknown provision of the Internal Revenue tax code that permits dieters to claim part of their costs of a weight-loss program as a federal income tax deduction if it is declared medically necessary by a physician, and medically supervised.

“We are pleased to report that many clients of our weight-loss program are eligible for this tax break,” reports Anthony Wehbe, D.O., Medical Director of the Bouari Clinic.

“The IRS will allow many people who are diagnosed by a physician as being overweight to deduct the costs of the services in a medically supervised weight reduction program,” Dr. Wehbe says. “The revenue ruling, IR 2002-19, approves the fees related to services such as medical supervision and nutritional education meetings when they are occurring for medically valid reasons. The IRS does not allow you to deduct the cost of special diet foods, if any, since the regular foods they replace are not tax-deductible.”

Dr. Wehbe goes on to say: “Qualification for the tax deduction depends on a person’s body mass index, or BMI. BMI is the mass of a person’s body in pounds divided by the square of his or her height. A well-proportioned or slender person will have a lower BMI than a heavier person of the same height. BMI is easily determined by a physician.

“To qualify for federal tax savings, a person must have a BMI of at least 28, the medical definition of overweight, or above 30, the definition of obesity, and receive a doctor’s prescription saying that weight loss is medically necessary. That way, the medical costs of a proper weight-loss program can be deducted from your federal income taxes—a tidy saving on the cost of weight-loss treatment. Of course, anyone claiming this and other tax deductions should consult a tax advisor before filing a return.”

The Bouari Clinic was created by and is supervised by physicians. This means that Bouari patients with BMIs of 28 or higher when they begin a Bouari Clinic weight-loss program are probably eligible for the federal tax deduction.

According to the Bouari Clinic’s web site for its Delaware Valley locations, www.PhilaSlim.com, the costs to patients of its ongoing medical supervision and the FDA-Registered vitamins and nutritional supplements used in its weight-loss programs may be reduced by the amount of the tax savings.

Bouari Clinic has facilities in Center City Philadelphia, Doylestown, King of Prussia, Cherry Hill, and Washington Township, New Jersey. More than 30,000 Bouari Clinic patients nationwide have benefited from medically-supervised weight loss and metabolism stabilizing that largely prevents weight return. The Bouari program does not require diet pills, packaged foods, exercise regimens, or surgery.

The Bouari Clinic offers an initial evaluation at no cost, and with no obligation. For information, call 866-891-2002 or go to www.PhilaSlim.com.