Re: Face and butt restoration- (US) tax deductible?

[Guest guest]

We had a post in 2008 about this interesting topic. I have claimed some of it.  Problems really arise when and if someone gets audited.

/message/24238 

On Sun, Apr 1, 2012 at 9:10 PM, Jim98122x <jim98122x@...> wrote:

Has anyone tried taking an itemized deduction on their US Income taxes under, " Medical Expenses " , for their facial or butt restoration?

To the extent these procedure exceed 7.5% of your adjusted income, the IRS site states that deductible expenses " must be incurred in the treatment of disease, or can be incurred for treatment affecting any structure or function of the body. "

It certainly sounds like restoring your face and/or butt to mitigate the effects of HIV-related lipoatrophy qualifies here.

Any accountants on here with an educated opinion on the subject?

Or has anyone tried it, and had it allowed or denied?

The follow-on to this would be, does it matter if it was incurred outside the USA?

------------------------------------

[Guest guest]

Jim,

I have taken tax deductions for BioAlcamid treatments and removal done in

Mexico, as well as for travel expenses incurred (plane, trolley, taxis, and

hotel). I read the regulations relating to medical deductions at the time, and

felt I was justified in taking the deductions. If you take a deduction based on

a good faith interpretation of the regulations, the worst that can happen is

that it could be denied in the very unlikely case that you get audited. If your

deduction is disallowed, you would have to pay the tax on the disallowed

deduction plus interest. No penalties apply if your deduction is based on a good

faith, reasonable interpretation of the regulations.

[Guest guest]

I'm a CPA - yes, it's perfectly justified to take a deduction for the expense of lipo treatment, but expect a fight if you get audited, for the same reason you should expect a fight from your insurance company for coverage. We're currently fighting with my partner's flexible spending account administrator on the topic, too.

As suggested below, to claim itemized deductions for medical expenses, your TOTAL deductible medical expenses have to exceed 7.5% of your " adjusted gross income " which is the last number on the first page of your tax return. (If the health care law doesn't get struck down, next year the threshold goes up to 10%, and if you know anything about tax, the threshold is already 10% for alternative minimum tax purposes.) So - most of the time, you can't claim medical expenses because they don't exceed the threshold. If the cost of the lipo treatment just barely pushes you over the 7.5%, you might not want to claim the deduction since it's guaranteed to get challenged on audit, and claiming medical expenses at all increases your audit risk.

So if you do claim the deduction, be sure you have all the same kind of documentation that an insurance company would ask for - letter from physician, proof that you have the medical condition that necessitated the treatment that caused the lipo, proof that you had that treatment (e.g. that you took zerit), our insurance company even asked for before and after photos that had been taken by the doctor.

Good luck!On Sun, Apr 1, 2012 at 10:13 PM, Vergel <Vergel@...> wrote:

 

We had a post in 2008 about this interesting topic. I have claimed some of it.  Problems really arise when and if someone gets audited.

/message/24238 

On Sun, Apr 1, 2012 at 9:10 PM, Jim98122x <jim98122x@...> wrote:

Has anyone tried taking an itemized deduction on their US Income taxes under, " Medical Expenses " , for their facial or butt restoration?

To the extent these procedure exceed 7.5% of your adjusted income, the IRS site states that deductible expenses " must be incurred in the treatment of disease, or can be incurred for treatment affecting any structure or function of the body. "

It certainly sounds like restoring your face and/or butt to mitigate the effects of HIV-related lipoatrophy qualifies here.

Any accountants on here with an educated opinion on the subject?

Or has anyone tried it, and had it allowed or denied?

The follow-on to this would be, does it matter if it was incurred outside the USA?

------------------------------------

[Guest guest]

I'm a CPA - yes, it's perfectly justified to take a deduction for the expense of lipo treatment, but expect a fight if you get audited, for the same reason you should expect a fight from your insurance company for coverage. We're currently fighting with my partner's flexible spending account administrator on the topic, too.

As suggested below, to claim itemized deductions for medical expenses, your TOTAL deductible medical expenses have to exceed 7.5% of your " adjusted gross income " which is the last number on the first page of your tax return. (If the health care law doesn't get struck down, next year the threshold goes up to 10%, and if you know anything about tax, the threshold is already 10% for alternative minimum tax purposes.) So - most of the time, you can't claim medical expenses because they don't exceed the threshold. If the cost of the lipo treatment just barely pushes you over the 7.5%, you might not want to claim the deduction since it's guaranteed to get challenged on audit, and claiming medical expenses at all increases your audit risk.

So if you do claim the deduction, be sure you have all the same kind of documentation that an insurance company would ask for - letter from physician, proof that you have the medical condition that necessitated the treatment that caused the lipo, proof that you had that treatment (e.g. that you took zerit), our insurance company even asked for before and after photos that had been taken by the doctor.

Good luck!On Sun, Apr 1, 2012 at 10:13 PM, Vergel <Vergel@...> wrote:

 

We had a post in 2008 about this interesting topic. I have claimed some of it.  Problems really arise when and if someone gets audited.

/message/24238 

On Sun, Apr 1, 2012 at 9:10 PM, Jim98122x <jim98122x@...> wrote:

Has anyone tried taking an itemized deduction on their US Income taxes under, " Medical Expenses " , for their facial or butt restoration?

To the extent these procedure exceed 7.5% of your adjusted income, the IRS site states that deductible expenses " must be incurred in the treatment of disease, or can be incurred for treatment affecting any structure or function of the body. "

It certainly sounds like restoring your face and/or butt to mitigate the effects of HIV-related lipoatrophy qualifies here.

Any accountants on here with an educated opinion on the subject?

Or has anyone tried it, and had it allowed or denied?

The follow-on to this would be, does it matter if it was incurred outside the USA?

------------------------------------