Plastic surgery (unless medically necessary) Facelifts, liposuction, electrolysis, and other procedures performed to improve your appearance are not deductible medical expenses. IRS rules on cosmetic surgery are clear. Medical expenses you incur for unnecessary cosmetic surgery are not deductible. The IRS allows you to pay off medical expenses related to procedures that cure a condition or illness, treat or restore your body, or improve your overall health.
For example, the IRS would allow you to deduct the cost of breast reconstruction surgery after a mastectomy because the procedure restores the body to its pre-cancer state. Now, what about cosmetic plastic surgery? According to the IRS, “you can't include in your medical expenses the amount you pay for unnecessary cosmetic surgery. “Examples that Publication 502 disapproves of include “" facelifts "”, hair transplants, hair removal (electrolysis) and liposuction.”. However, the medical expenses of cosmetic surgery overlook with the IRS if “it is necessary to improve a deformity arising from or directly related to, a congenital anomaly, a personal injury resulting from an accident or trauma, or a disfiguring illness.
In addition, Callister claims that there are precedents for deducting skin removal costs. Therefore, when a patient loses a significant amount of weight, excess hanging skin can be removed and it is considered deductible if the mass of skin interferes with the patient's daily life or is prone to infections and diseases. Again, as with most things, the exact facts and circumstances influence this decision. Technically, cosmetic surgery falls under the category of personal appearance expenses, although you live in a somewhat gray area.
This is because permanent modification of your body is difficult to classify as just for work, unlike a special costume, you can't “take it off” when you turn off the starting clock. Callister with Fishman, Larsen, Goldring %26 Zeitler, Gives Readers of Plastic Surgery Practice a Summary of Current Rules on Deductibility of Cosmetic Surgeries. I was asking what was the personal experience of other people who had skin removal type surgery that were successfully (or not successfully) claiming as a deduction. The information provided on this site is for general informational purposes only and does not replace the need for a formal consultation with a plastic and reconstructive surgeon before undergoing a surgical procedure or skin care treatment.
Those who undergo bariatric surgery that results in great weight loss may end up with so much skin that they become prone to rashes and fungal infections in the folds due to excessive perspiration. However, these arguments have been largely rejected by the Internal Revenue Service and by the courts as being too personal in nature and benefiting the taxpayer. She is now interested in having cosmetic surgery because her extra skin not only doesn't look great, but it's actually physically uncomfortable and affects her quality of life. If a woman with back, neck or shoulder pain had to pay for breast reduction surgery out of pocket, she should be able to deduct the cost of surgery on her tax form.
The Tax Court has set a precedent for allowing cosmetic surgery deductions as business expenses when cosmetic surgery is necessary for business purposes. With all these factors, it was difficult for the IRS to argue that Hess's surgery was motivated by anything other than success at work and the tax court judge approved the deduction and categorized her breast implants as stage props. If you are considering having a tummy tuck to resolve symptoms related to excess skin, talk to your surgeon and a tax advisor to see if your surgery could be considered necessary rather than cosmetic. The taxpayer argued that the procedures were necessary to treat a disease (specifically, gender identity disorder) and should not be considered standard cosmetic surgery.
Based on an analysis by several medical experts, the Tax Court ruled that gender identity disorder is a “disease” and that hormone therapy and sex reassignment surgery were for the treatment of gender identity disorder. . .
