re: Tax Deductions

I found this on the main board. Thought it was an interesting subject and worthwhile looking into. Elissa From the IRS website... Weight-Loss Program You can include in medical expenses amounts you pay to lose weight if it is a treatment for a specific disease diagnosed by a physician (such as obesity, hypertension, or heart disease). This includes fees you pay for membership in a weight reduction group and attendance at periodic meetings. You cannot include membership dues in a gym, health club, or spa as medical expenses, but you can include separate fees charged there for weight loss activities. You cannot include the cost of diet food or beverages in medical expenses because the diet food and beverages substitute for what is normally consumed to satisfy nutritional needs. You can include the cost of special food in medical expenses only if: The food does not satisfy normal nutritional needs, The food alleviates or treats an illness, and The need for the food is substantiated by a physician. The amount you can include in medical expenses is limited to the amount by which the cost of the special food exceeds the cost of a normal diet. See also Weight-Loss Program under What Expenses Are Not Includible, later. Transportation You can include in medical expenses amounts paid for transportation primarily for, and essential to, medical care. You can include: Bus, taxi, train, or plane fares or ambulance service, Transportation expenses of a parent who must go with a child who needs medical care, Transportation expenses of a nurse or other person who can give injections, medications, or other treatment required by a patient who is traveling to get medical care and is unable to travel alone, and Transportation expenses for regular visits to see a mentally ill dependent, if these visits are recommended as a part of treatment. Car expenses. You can include out-of-pocket expenses, such as the cost of gas and oil, when you use a car for medical reasons. You cannot include depreciation, insurance, general repair, or maintenance expenses. If you do not want to use your actual expenses, for 2004 you can use a standard rate of 14 cents a mile for use of a car for medical reasons. You can also include parking fees and tolls. You can add these fees and tolls to your medical expenses whether you use actual expenses or use the standard mileage rate. Example. Bill Jones drove 2,800 miles for medical reasons during the year. He spent $200 for gas, $5 for oil, and $50 for tolls and parking. He wants to figure the amount he can include in medical expenses both ways to see which gives him the greater deduction. He figures the actual expenses first. He adds the $200 for gas, the $5 for oil, and the $50 for tolls and parking for a total of $255. He then figures the standard mileage amount. He multiplies the 2,800 miles by 14 cents a mile for a total of $392. He then adds the $50 tolls and parking for a total of $442. Bill includes the $442 of car expenses with his other medical expenses for the year because the $442 is more than the $255 he figured using actual expenses. Transportation expenses you cannot include. You cannot include in medical expenses the cost of transportation in the following situations. Going to and from work, even if your condition requires an unusual means of transportation. Travel for purely personal reasons to another city for an operation or other medical care. Travel that is merely for the general improvement of one's health. Trips You can include in medical expenses amounts you pay for transportation to another city if the trip is primarily for, and essential to, receiving medical services. You may be able to include up to $50 per night for lodging. See Lodging, earlier. You cannot include in medical expenses a trip or vacation taken merely for a change in environment, improvement of morale, or general improvement of health, even if the trip is made on the advice of a doctor. However, see Medical Conferences, earlier. Cosmetic Surgery Generally, you cannot include in medical expenses the amount you pay for unnecessary cosmetic surgery. This includes any procedure that is directed at improving the patient's appearance and does not meaningfully promote the proper function of the body or prevent or treat illness or disease. You generally cannot include in medical expenses the amount you pay for procedures such as face lifts, hair transplants, hair removal (electrolysis), teeth whitening, and liposuction. You can include in medical expenses the amount you pay for cosmetic surgery if it is necessary to improve a deformity arising from, or directly related to, a congenital abnormality, a personal injury resulting from an accident or trauma, or a disfiguring disease. Example. An individual undergoes surgery that removes a breast as part of treatment for cancer. She pays a surgeon to reconstruct the breast. The surgery to reconstruct the breast corrects a deformity directly related to the disease. The cost of the surgery is includible in her medical expenses. Check out... (http://www)irs.gov/publications/p502/ar02.html It has a huge list of what is and what is not covered.

Guess I need to start tracking my WLS expenses to give to my accountant next year. Thanks!

woooo hoooooooo eliissa....your like me the mind is always going.......i love it

Gotta let hubby know about this. Thanks