WHAT EVERY TAX PRO NEEDS TO KNOWABOUT MEDICAL MARIJUANA
Legal May Not Mean “Legal” By Scott B. MacPherson *
At last check, medical marijuana is legal in 33 States, the District of Columbia, and the territories of Guam, Puerto Rico, the Northern Mariana Islands, and the U.S. Virgin Islands. Twelve jurisdictions now allow recreational use of marijuana. However, marijuana still remains illegal under federal law. Until November 2018 it was an open question whether or not a business that is legal under state law, but illegal under federal law, could claim business deductions under federal tax laws for the purpose of computing its federal income tax. On November 29, 2018, the Tax Court handed down the first opinion on that question, in Patients Mutual Assistance Collective Corp. v. Commissioner, 151 T.C. No. 11 (2018). The court held that an illegal business cannot claim expense deductions under §162.
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