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? claiming lap-band as a tax deduction (self-pay)



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Hi all. Getting banded on 8-4-08 with Dr Aceves in Mexico. Has anyone who is self-pay and had surgery done in Mexico taking the cost as a medical tax decuction? Can this be done? I would be interested in hearing form anyone with any experience with this sort of thing. TIA :)

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i deducted my expenses when i had the surgery. there are requirements though. when i did it, i think that the medical expenses had to be greater than 7.5% of your total income (or something like that).

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Mini Me - Did you have to get a prescription from your PCP saying it was a medically necessary procedure? Was your doctor in Mexico or the U.S.? I'm wonder if either of these make a differance for whether or not you can deduct the medical expenses.??

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I was self pay and I am keeping receipts of everything that was related to it...psych visit, dr visits, physical therapist, dietician, etc.

Wish I could also deduct the Protein drinks, thats related and I sure cant call it groceries! But I need it. Being able to deduct buying smaller clothes would also be great but I don't think the tax man would go for that one.

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And remember to add to this any prescription medications you pay for, eye exams, eye glasses, contacts, children's (assuming there are any) exams, glasses, etc, spouse's eye exams, etc (assuming you are married and filing jointly).......All of this can add up quickly....gas, bus fare, lodging (to an extent)

I am sure all of this is on the irs website stated above, but remember it all adds up.

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Also, if your company has a FSA for medical expenses, take advantage of that. Lots of OTC stuff is deductable and it comes off your wages as pre-tax income.

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Absolutely! Medical expenses are deducted on your Schedule A (which you will file this year even if you normally don't.) Medical expenses must be higher than 7.5% of your income in order to be deducted. A simple example is: Your surgery cost $17,500. You make $100,000. The first 7.5% of expenses are ignored so your deduction is $17,500 minus $7,500 (7.5% of $100,000) for a $10,000 deduction. If you make less your deduction is greater, i.e. a $50,000 income only ignores the first $3,750 and $13,750 is written off. If you make more your income is higher and the 7.5% disallowed is higher. Keep track of all medical expenses including co-pays for visits before the surgery and prescriptions unrelated to the surgery as all of this will be deductible. Don't forget mileage, travel expenses (limited - see your preparer) and non-surgery related expenses such as glasses and dental work are also included here.

Because you will be doing itemized deductions this year instead of the standard deductions there are other things to keep in mind. Keep track of all your charitable deductions. If you give away a bunch of clothes that are now too big :thumbs_up: - photograph what you are giving, itemize each item, and use an online calculator like "It's Deductible" (http://turbotax.intuit.com/tax-preparation/itsdeductible.jhtml ) to figure out your write off. (You will probably underestimate the value of your used items so this is handy, and a printout will let the IRS know how you figured out the value in the event of an audit. And remember, an audit is nothing to fear if you are honest and have the receipts you need.) Also keep track of all your cash donations and don't give cash! You must have a cancelled check to take a write-off now, so if you feed the red bucket for the Salvation Army during the holidays write a check instead of throwing in bills.

If you live in a non-income tax state (WA, NV, Alaska, Montana, FL and one or two I always forget) keep track of your sales tax paid, especially if you have a big purchase like a car. Part of your auto-reg fees are a write-off, property taxes and mortgage interest are no-brainers if now a very small amount that means you usually no longer itemize. And unreimbursed employee expenses (mileage to a seminar, lunch with the boss, uniform dry cleaning, supplies you purchase) have a 2% threshold (like the 7.5% above) but may be worth keeping track of. Also a safety deposit box used to hold investments (like silver, jewelry or stock certificates), investment expenses, and tax prep fees (including the cost of Turbo Tax the year before), all fall under this 2% threshold.

If your taxes are usually very simple this may be the year to hire a professional to maximize your deductions. (But don't let them make some up! Yes, I have seen that and the taxpayer gets punished, not the preparer!) Ask friends for a recommendation and ask for a fee range before you hire the preparer. (My guess: a simplified return with a Schedule A is $125 to $250 but if they spend more time with you and try to find every deduction including the ones I haven't listed here they may be worth a bit more.)

(The CYA:biggrin2:) Disclaimer: This is very general tax information and may or may not apply to your situation. Please see a tax professional to determine your own situation.

Also, I am uncertain as to the ability to write off international expenses. I just haven't had this question come up. So you may be limited to US expenses but I don't think so.

Hope this helps! (And yes, I copied from a reply I did earlier if it seems a little deja vu. Not the most fascinating subject to write about over and over again.:biggrin2:)

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we deduct ALL medications and anything health related. i include Protein drinks because i only drink them while on liquids after a fill, hence they are medically necessary. i log all dr trips, including the computer dr, in an excel spreadsheet within a day or 2 of the visit.

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If you are paying some of your medical copays, prescriptions, etc., with money out of your flex spending plan, you can't use those expenses as a tax deduction, can you?

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If you are paying some of your medical copays, prescriptions, etc., with money out of your flex spending plan, you can't use those expenses as a tax deduction, can you?

If you use Turbo Tax, it will walk you thru it. You can use it all, but the portion that was kept pre-tax gets a different rate.

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My insurance didn't pay for some of mine and I took out a quick medical loan. I submitted it on my taxes. My tax man said that was fine. Worked for me.

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Has anyone specifically taken off medical expenses for the lap band if it was done in Mexico? I couldn't find anything on the IRS website.

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I found this page when I went searching for information. Looks like you can write it off even if it's foreign. This is from a medical vacation site:

Taxes

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    • Alisa_S

      On day 4 of the 2 week liquid pre-op diet. Surgery scheduled for June 11th.
      Soooo I am coming to a realization
      of something and I'm not sure what to do about it. For years the only thing I've enjoyed is eating. We rarely do anything or go anywhere and if we do it always includes food. Family comes over? Big family dinner! Go camping? Food! Take a short ride or trip? Food! Holiday? Food! Go out of town for a Dr appointment? Food! When we go to a new town we don't look for any attractions, we look for restaurants we haven't been to. Heck, I look forward to getting off work because that means it's almost supper time. Now that I'm drinking these pre-op shakes for breakfast, lunch, and supper I have nothing to look forward to.  And once I have surgery on June 11th it'll be more of the same shakes. Even after pureed stage, soft food stage, and finally regular food stage, it's going to be a drastic change for the rest of my life. I'm giving up the one thing that really brings me joy. Eating. How do you cope with that? What do you do to fill that void? Wow. Now I'm sad.
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    • Alisa_S

      On day 4 of the 2 week liquid pre-op diet. Surgery scheduled for June 11th.
      Soooo I am coming to a realization
      of something and I'm not sure what to do about it. For years the only thing I've enjoyed is eating. We rarely do anything or go anywhere and if we do it always includes food. Family comes over? Big family dinner! Go camping? Food! Take a short ride or trip? Food! Holiday? Food! Go out of town for a Dr appointment? Food! When we go to a new town we don't look for any attractions, we look for restaurants we haven't been to. Heck, I look forward to getting off work because that means it's almost supper time. Now that I'm drinking these pre-op shakes for breakfast, lunch, and supper I have nothing to look forward to.  And once I have surgery on June 11th it'll be more of the same shakes. Even after pureed stage, soft food stage, and finally regular food stage, it's going to be a drastic change for the rest of my life. I'm giving up the one thing that really brings me joy. Eating. How do you cope with that? What do you do to fill that void? Wow. Now I'm sad.
      · 1 reply
      1. summerseeker

        Life as a big person had limited my life to what I knew I could manage to do each day. That was eat. I hadn't anything else to look forward to. So my eating choices were the best I could dream up. I planned the cooking in managable lots in my head and filled my day with and around it.

        Now I have a whole new big, bigger, biggest, best days ever. I am out there with those skinny people doing stuff i could never have dreamt of. Food is now an after thought. It doesn't consume my day. I still enjoy the good home cooked food but I eat smaller portions. I leave food on my plate when I am full. I can no longer hear my mother's voice saying eat it all up, ther are starving children in Africa who would want that!

        I still cook for family feasts, I love cooking. I still do holidays but I have changed from the All inclusive drinking and eating everything everyday kind to Self catering accommodation. This gives me the choice of cooking or eating out as I choose. I rarely drink anymore as I usually travel alone now and I feel I need to keep aware of my surroundings.

        I don't know at what point my life expanded, was it when I lost 100 pounds? Was it when I left my walking stick at home ? Was it when I said yes to an outing instead of finding an excuse to stay home ? i look back at my last five years and wonder how loosing weight has made such a difference. Be ready to amaze yourself.

        BTW, the liquid diet sucks, one more day and you are over the worst. You can do it.

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