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Posted by San Diego CPA on January 7, 2007, 10:51 pm
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> In 2006 I gave birth to my second child. She was diagnosed
> in utero with a tumor. To obtain adequate medical care for
> me and the baby, we traveled very far from home by
> commercial airline to Boston, where we rented a temporary
> apartment for a month. It was a small 2br apartment in an
> ordinary Boston apartment building, nothing fancy. Child #1
> (a 2yo) and I traveled together; DH traveled alone. All
> four of us returned home together.
>
> Unreimbursed hospital bills (all paid in 2006, whew!) are
> far in excess of 7.5% of AGI plus the standard deduction
> (married, filing jointly), so we should itemize our US
> federal tax return. So what exactly can we claim, of our
> travel and lodging?
>
> I think we can claim $50/night lodging for each adult (DH
> and I) because I was the "patient". And we can claim
> $50/night for child #2 after her discharge from the
> hospital. But...
>
> Can we claim $50/night for child #1?
> Can we claim DH's travel (rental car, airfare) to Boston, a
> trip he made alone?
> Can we claim child #1's airfare?
Assuming all requirements for deductibility are met (see IRS
Publication 502 http://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/p502.pdf), the
deductible lodging will be the lesser of $50 per day per
person or actual. While the lodging for both you, your
husband and your other minor child will be deductible, that
gives you $150 per day capacity but you cannot simply
deducte $4500 for a month if your actual costs were less
than that.
DH & child 1 travel expense (e.g., airfare)- yes
Be sure to keep good records of both the expenses and the
medical condition/treatment, etc. to support the deductions
taken.
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