Jason has a chronic disease and his wife, Alice, takes care of him. Dr. Jones, J

Question

Jason has a chronic disease and his wife, Alice, takes care of him. Dr. Jones, Jason's doctor, encouraged Alice to go to a caregiver's conference, which was being held in a different state. Dr. Jones believed that she would learn valuable information about providing care to her husband. At this conference, Alice attended presentations about the disease and other presentations/discussions regarding family issues that commonly arise in families where a family member has this chronic disease. Alice incurred the following expenses in connection with this conference: transportation to the conference, registration fee for the conference, lodging, and meals.

Also, Alice talked to people at the conference, who said that a trip to a sunny, warm location might improve Jason's mental outlook. So she planned and paid for a 10 day Caribbean cruise that they took in December.

Alice would like to know which of the above costs for the conference and trip, if any, are deductible medical expenses. Do the tax research and record your answer in memo form.

Explanation / Answer

As per IRS rules you can include, for the purpose of computing deductible medical expenses, the expenses incurred towards medical conferences. The amounts that can be included are expenses paid for transportation to a medical conference. The condition set by IRS is that the conference should concern the chronic illness of you or your spouse and the cost of meals and lodging and will not be deductible as medical expenses.

Cost of trips is deductible only if the trip is primarily for receiving medical services. The 10 day Caribbean cruise taken by Jason and Alice does not include any medical services and hence cannot be deducted.

Thus, in this case, Alice will be allowed only to deduct the following expenses – transportation to the conference and registration fee for the conference.

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