Sometimes. IRS Publication 502 lets you count bathroom modifications made for medical care, but only expenses above 7.5 percent of your AGI, and only if you itemize. Talk to a tax professional before you count on it.
Updated October 2026. General information, not medical, tax, insurance or legal advice.
An accessibility bathroom project can count as a medical expense on your federal return, but only in specific cases and only the part above 7.5 percent of your adjusted gross income, and only if you itemize. IRS Publication 502 spells out which home changes qualify and how a rise in home value reduces the amount. Arkansas has its own rule on Form AR3. This guide explains both. It is general information, not tax advice: talk to a tax professional before you count on any deduction.
It can, when the main purpose is medical care for someone in the household. IRS Publication 502 says certain improvements made to accommodate a home to a disabled condition “don't usually increase the value of the home and the cost can be included in full as medical expenses”. Its list includes “Installing railings, support bars, or other modifications to bathrooms” and “Adding handrails or grab bars anywhere (whether or not in bathrooms)”.\n\nThe publication also gives an example close to a tub to shower conversion: a person with arthritis and a heart condition who cannot get into a bathtub installs a shower stall on the doctor's advice, and the entire amount paid can be included as a medical expense. Two limits run through every case. “Only reasonable costs to accommodate a home to your disabled condition are considered medical care”, and “Additional costs for personal motives, such as for architectural or aesthetic reasons, aren't medical expenses”. A premium finish chosen for looks is the part that usually does not count.
Only medical costs above 7.5 percent of your adjusted gross income are deductible. Publication 502 says you can deduct on Schedule A “only the part of your medical and dental expenses that is more than 7.5% of your adjusted gross income (AGI)”. The bathroom project is added to every other unreimbursed medical cost for the year, and the total has to clear that line.\n\nAt an AGI of $40,000 the floor is $3,000; at $60,000 it is $4,500. Census estimates put the Arkansas median household income at $58,773, where the floor would be $4,408. So if a qualifying shower with a seat and grab bars cost $16,000 and an AGI of $60,000 applied, the amount above the federal floor would be $11,500, before any other medical costs are added. That only helps if your itemized deductions beat the standard deduction, which is why the timing of the project and other large medical bills in the same year matters.
Then only the part of the cost above the increase in value counts. Publication 502's capital expense rule says “The cost of the improvement is reduced by the increase in the value of your property. The difference is a medical expense”. If the value is not increased, “the entire cost is included as a medical expense”.\n\nAs a simple illustration, a $20,000 improvement that raises the home's value by $5,000 leaves $15,000 as the medical portion. Many accessibility changes fall on the full cost side, because the IRS says items such as bathroom support bars, widened doorways and entrance ramps “don't usually increase the value of the home”. A full luxury remodel is different: the upgraded finishes are personal choices, and the value they add reduces what counts. An appraisal or a written opinion of value can support the number you use, and a tax professional can tell you what documentation your situation needs. Keep the before and after photos with that opinion so the change in the room is easy to show.
A walk in tub can count when it is installed mainly for medical care, but Publication 502 does not name walk in tubs, so it falls under the same capital expense and bathroom modification rules. The shower stall example installed “On the doctor's advice” is the clearest pattern: a written recommendation from a physician tying the change to a diagnosed condition is the record that shows medical purpose.\n\nTypical Bath Planet installed ranges are $14,000 to $20,000 for a walk in tub and $16,000 to $22,000 for a shower with a seat and grab bars, the same in every Arkansas town. If a feature is chosen for comfort rather than a medical need, the extra cost of that feature may be the kind of personal choice the IRS excludes. Keep the itemized quote so a preparer can separate the parts.
Arkansas uses a higher floor than the federal return. The 2024 Arkansas Form AR3 instructions tell filers to list only amounts paid and not reimbursed, then multiply adjusted gross income by “ten percent 10% (.10)” and deduct only the medical costs above that amount. Arkansas filers then use the larger of their AR3 itemized deductions or the state standard deduction of $2,410.\n\nAt an AGI of $60,000 the Arkansas floor is $6,000, compared with $4,500 federally, so the same $16,000 qualifying cost would leave $10,000 above the Arkansas floor. At the state's median household income of $58,773 the Arkansas floor would be $5,877. The AR3 chart lists items such as wheelchairs and long term care expenses as deductible examples; it does not list home modifications, so confirm how your preparer treats them on the state return.
| Adjusted gross income | Federal floor (7.5 percent) | Arkansas floor (10 percent, Form AR3) |
|---|---|---|
| $40,000 | $3,000 | $4,000 |
| $60,000 | $4,500 | $6,000 |
| $58,773 (Arkansas median household income) | $4,408 | $5,877 |
Source: IRS Publication 502; Arkansas 2024 Form AR3 instructions; Census ACS median household income.
Keep the paper trail that proves medical purpose, cost and value. Useful records include a doctor's letter describing the condition and recommending the change, the itemized written quote and final invoice, proof of payment, any reimbursement from insurance or a program, and photos of the bathroom before and after. If the work could raise the home's value, add an appraisal or written opinion of value.\n\nUpkeep counts too. Publication 502 says amounts paid for operation and upkeep of a capital asset qualify “as long as the main reason for them is medical care”. Program money changes the math: a VA HISA grant of up to $6,800 or $2,000 for eligible veterans pays part of the cost, and only what you paid yourself can be counted. The need is common in Arkansas, where Census estimates show 26.4 percent of residents 65 and older report an ambulatory difficulty, but every return is different. Talk to a tax professional about your own return.
They can be, as a medical expense. IRS Publication 502 lists “Adding handrails or grab bars anywhere (whether or not in bathrooms)” among improvements that do not usually increase a home's value, so the cost can be included in full. Only total medical expenses above 7.5 percent of adjusted gross income are deductible, and only if you itemize on Schedule A. At an AGI of $60,000 that floor is $4,500. Confirm with a tax professional.
Publication 502 does not list a required form, but its bathroom example involves a shower stall installed “On the doctor's advice”, and the rule turns on the main reason being medical care. A physician's letter naming the condition and recommending the change is the strongest record of that purpose. Keep it with the itemized quote, the invoice and proof of payment, and ask a tax professional what your return needs.
Possibly, if it is made for medical care and does not raise the home's value. Publication 502 says that if the value isn't increased, “the entire cost is included as a medical expense”, and its example of a shower stall installed for a person who cannot get into a bathtub counts the full amount. Upgrades chosen for looks are excluded, and only totals above 7.5 percent of AGI are deductible.
Yes. The 2024 Arkansas Form AR3 instructions multiply adjusted gross income by 10 percent rather than the federal 7.5 percent, so less of the same cost clears the state floor. At an AGI of $60,000 the Arkansas floor is $6,000 against $4,500 federally. Arkansas filers then take the larger of their AR3 itemized deductions or the $2,410 standard deduction. A tax professional can apply this to your return.
Only the part you paid yourself and were not reimbursed for. Arkansas Form AR3 says to list only amounts you paid and for which you were not reimbursed, and the same principle applies federally. If a VA HISA grant of $6,800 or $2,000 covered part of a project, subtract it before adding the rest to your medical costs, and keep the grant paperwork with your invoice. Ask a tax professional how to report it.
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