Garden conversion for the disabled
Extraordinary expenses
Sick and disabled persons inevitably incur special expenses that are caused by their illness/disability and are not covered by health/care insurance. As a rule, these expenses also constitute extraordinary burdens. However, there is no compulsory nature justifying an extraordinary burden if the person concerned incurs expenses for "leisure or luxury activities". In this case, there is regularly a lack of inevitability. The Federal Fiscal Court (Bundesfinanzhof/BFH) confirmed this view in a recent ruling on the conversion of a garden to make it suitable for disabled persons (BFH, ruling dated 26.10.2022, VI R 25/20; published on 23.3.2023).
The case
A married couple lived in a single-family house with a garden. The wife suffers from post-polio syndrome. She therefore had various garden areas redesigned into wide paved areas so that they were accessible by wheelchair. They claimed the expenses as extraordinary expenses. Justification: The measure is medically necessary and the garden is part of the living requirements.
BFH ruling
The BFH followed the opinion of the tax office and did not allow the tax deduction. According to the BFH, the expenses were not necessarily incurred by the taxpayers. This is because the garden does not belong to the individual (existentially necessary) living environment. Conversion of garden areas to meet the needs of the disabled is therefore always at the discretion of a sick/disabled taxpayer.
Update: May 29, 2023
Image: Dan Race - stock.adobe.com
