[desperate]

Hi Guys,

Our insurance has run out and all further treatment will be out of pocket. Does anybody know if all medical/IVF expenses is tax deductable? What about travel for IVF expenses? By any chance is this tax deductable too? Just trying to work out my budget.

THANKS!

[KELLIF4]

Don't quote me but I remember reading that you can deduct medical expenses if they are greater than 7 or 8% of your adjusted income. You would therefore have to file wtih the long form. We have insurance and I'm still trying to get enough medical write off's for this. We have a 25,000 cap for IF, so we've tried to still pay out of pocket for as much as we can so we can have the help as long as possible. We paid out of pocket for our med's this year ... We also used Flex Spending, with this you are still paying the bill yourself but it is not taxed like it would if it were coming right out of your paycheck. I keep track of every single visit I make ( Our RE is about an hour away ). Goodluck !!

[davea]

Yes, it is. Again, it has to be above a certain % of your AGI before you can deduct.

I would talk to a CPA.

[casb77]

I believe it's 7% of your income, not sure if that's pre- or post-tax dollars. I think you can include your travel expenses for the medical treatments too. The lady in billing told me to call her at the end of the year and ask for a detailed bill form to use for our taxes. I may have the name wrong or it may not be a standard form, but ask your doc's billing dept. to see if they can do the same thing. I also keep all receipts and bills for our taxes too.

[CatIz1]

Yes it is. I have been able to deduct the costs the past 2 years. The amount needs to be greater than 7% of your AGI. As for travel you get a mileage allowance. Speak with a tax professional..they will look at your particular situation.

[AngieInOH]

Anyone know if hotel stays and meals are tax deductable if it's due to IF?

[BabySteps]

Yes the costs are deductible. Save your receipts. Here is a previous thread that discusses tax deductions.
Are Infertility Treatments Tax Deductible?

Here is some info that was for 2007 taxes http://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/p502.pdf

[desperate]

That really helps!

[Emilysmom]

We paid 3 cycles IUI and 3 IVF out of pocket. We were able with the help of our CPA to write off the cycles, medications and gas expenditures.

[historyteach]

last year i deducted for all our tests, drugs, appointments, including co-pays and mileage. if you are paying for long-distance phone calls you can deduct them as long as you have documentation. we have a full file of stuff... with how expensive everything is, we have to do everything that we can!!!!

[Msred]

Another thing you can consider is starting your own business. My husband is a computer tech, and if there's something that's almost as bad as being a doctor, its a computer tech. Everyone and their mother wants him to fix their machines. So we decided that he would start charging and now we make a small amount of money every year this way. Typically, we were paying taxes the income (we ran it as a business that wasn't incorporated or anything, just a sole proprietorship, so the taxes were just filed on an extra Schedule on our personal taxes) as part of our annual income. But the business does have a policy (because I wrote it) that it covers all out of pocket medical expenses for the employees (my husband and myself). All major companies have some sort of health expenses for its employees and believe me, it writes off all these as business operating expenses. So...this year we will have a big loss for our business which is ALL tax deductible - without having to hit the 7.5% minimum.

If you have a skill that you can sell (not a hobby), it may be worth taking the time to set this up. We just run the business with a "DBA" (doing business as) which means that my husband IS the business and vice versa. We don't have legal protections if he is sued, but it is very easy to register for a DBA with your local government and then open a business bank account. It will save us many thousands of dollars this year and is definitely worth the day or two of hassle to set up.

Msred