The ADHD tax is the extra costs accrued due to having ADHD

The ADHD tax is all the little extra costs and payments that come with having ADHD. Examples include:

• Forgetting to cancel free trials or subscriptions before they renew
• Buying extra fresh food because it got left in the fridge and went off
• Late fees from not paying bills and fines etc
• Buying takeaway because you forgot to plan for a meal and now you're too hungry to cook.
• Replacing phones, keys, bank cards etc because you lost them

Usually the ADHD tax is thought of only in terms of money, but I would argue that there is an emotional ADHD tax as well. Examples of an emotional ADHD tax might include.

• Guilt from forgetting important dates, appointments and birthdays
• Stress from having to find a new doctor because you missed appointments too many times.

Paying the ADHD tax upfront can mitigate the cost

One way to mitigate the cost of the ADHD Tax is to choose to pay it upfront. Similar to the concept of buying things in bulk, paying the ADHD tax upfront might cost more initially, but it works out cheaper in the long run.

This can be difficult for people with ADHD to get their heads around, since the ADHD brain is not very good at thinking long term.

Methods of paying the ADHD tax upfront will depend on the particular nature of the tax.

For example:

if you find yourself throwing out fresh fruit and veg because you forgot about them and they went bad, you could choose to pay the ADHD tax upfront by buying tinned fruit and vegetables instead.

If you find yourself paying late fees on your bills, you could try switching to direct debit so you know they'll always be paid on time.

Buy some Tiles/Air tags to attach to your keys or wallet so you can find them when you (inevitably) lose them.

And when it comes to sensory issues it's worth spending more money on clothes to make certain they're comfortable, rather than buying the cheapest ones you can find and never wearing them because they make you itch.

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