My wife and have joked on more than one occasion that we should be able to claim our dogs on our tax return and get some kind of credit given the amount of money we spend on their care. Well the dream could become a reality if you support the Humanity and Pets Partnered Through the Years (“HAPPY”) Act. U.S. Representative Thaddeus McCotter (R-MI) has introduced the “HAPPY” Act which would allow individuals to claim tax deductions for qualified pet care expenses. The bill, if passed, would allow any taxpayer who legally owns one or more domesticated animals to take an annual income tax deduction of up to $3,500 for pet care expenses, including veterinary care costs.
We certainly know a thing or two about pet care expenses. Emma’s two surgeries alone have cost us around $15,000 over the past two years. That $3,500 income tax deduction certainly would have been appreciated. It is also feasible that this bill could help keep some people from abandoning their pets when faced with the prospect of a large veterinary bill. These tough economic times have been especially tough on our animal shelters because of this very reason. My vet has had two dogs recently (that I know about) where the owners could not afford the sugery their dogs needed and subequently gave them up. She ended up performing the surgery for free in both cases and adopting out the dogs.
Want to know how you can help? Write a letter or email your local U.S. Representative. The ASPCA has made it easy by providing a template letter that will automatically send to your U.S. Representative, you just fill in your information. That form can be found here and will only take you a minute to fill out!
So be HAPPY and support the HAPPY Act!
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Tags: dogs · happy act6 Comments
Where do I get the letter?
I totally support this
Sounds like a good idea to me, I’m thinking we could copy and paste part of the above article, and add your personal opionion and send it to your local and state reps. Plus email it to all the people you know.
totally support this!
This should pertain to cats, dogs, horses, and cows, not to include reptiles, mice or tamed wild animals. A health certificate should be submitted with the tax return. If tax return is filed online a certificate number should be submitted and verified by the Veterinarian. This would be good for the responsible bet owner and deter the unresponsible from taking the tax credit and hopefully deter people from getting an animal and not taking care of them just so they can get the credit
Judy,
You bring up a very good point. People are already having kids for the tax credit and government assistance. Those same people would quickly figure this one out and be acquiring pets left and right for a tax credit. A certificate should be required every year somebody tries to claim the credit.
Jeffrey