Taxes and Implants

[Piddlin]

Ok guys, major question. Is the out of pocket cost of the implant tax deductible? Next does using a 3rd party to arrange everything, like I did with Surgeo.com cause any issues with taxes? Hopefully one of my bionic brothers is a tax professional as many of us never reveal what profession we are in and rightly so.
Thanks.
Piddlin

[LMCatman]

Not a tax guy but...it's a medical procedure and is probably no more or no less deductible than any other medical procedure. Good luck!!!

[Morton]

Per IRS Pub 502, you can deduct "medical expenses for operations that are'nt for unnecessary cosmetic surgery". Cosmetic surgery includes any procedure that is directed at improving appearance and doesn't "promote the proper function of the body or prevent or treat illness."

You can only deduct "the amount of your medical expenses that is more than 10% of your Adjusted Gross Income (AGI)". If you are over 65, the threshold is 7.5% instead of 10%.

I am not a tax return preparer, but I think it's an operation that promotes the proper function of the body. The 10% AGI would severely limit your deduction however.

[radiodec]

as is appropriate for someone only 10 days after his second implantation; I work with software. Old programmers never die, they just get new hardware.

David

[Dustyknox]

I won't say what I do for a living for the sake of anonymity, but I am qualified to give an answer on this subject. Morton is 100% correct.

Keep in mind that the definition of medical expenses is fairly broad. Your travel expenses for medical care are deductible after you reach the threshold as well. Here is a great summary:

https://turbotax.intuit.com/tax-tools/t ... 12018.html