9 Surprising Medical Expenses That Can Be Deducted From IRS Taxes

Medical expenses during the course of a year can build up, but the IRS allows some costs to be deducted from taxes.

Not all medical expenses are deductible. Only those that accumulate to more than the 10 percent of a household’s annual gross income may be taken from taxes charged, according to the Internal Revenue Service’s website.

Additionally, the procedures, treatments, and other costs must be included in the list found in the IRS Publication 502.

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Here are some of the most surprising expenses that may be deductible.

1. Travel Costs
According to the IRS website, costs of travel for medical care, such as public transportation and ambulance services can be included in the deduction. This also includes tolls and parking fees.

2. Abortions and Birth Control Pills
Debate rages over how abortions are addressed in the Affordable Care Act and the Hyde Amendment, which restricts the use of Medicaid to pay for abortions, according to The Washington Post. Legal abortion procedures are acceptable to be deducted from taxes, according to the IRS’s Publication 502. They do not have to be as a result of rape, incest or endangerment of the mother’s life. Birth control pills that are prescribed by a doctor can be included as well.

3. Braille Books and Magazines
Reading materials used by the visually impaired may be included in deductions so long as they cost more than regular printed editions.

4. Guide dogs and service animals
Charges made to buy, train and take care of an animal used for those with physical disabilities are deductible. This includes costs of feeding, grooming and veterinary care.

5. Medical conferences
Admission and travel costs for attending a conference concerning a chronic illness with which an individual, their spouse, or their dependent struggles are deductible. Cost of meals and lodging are not included, and a majority of the time must be spent attending sessions at the event.

6. Fertility Enhancements, Sterilizations and Vasectomies
All of these procedures may be deductible so long as they are done legally to an individual who wishes to overcome an inability to have children or wants to avoid having kids. “In vitro” fertilization and surgeries to reverse sterilization are also included.

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7. Telephone and Television
Devices used to allow deaf and hard of hearing individuals to communicate over the phone or watch television may be deducted from taxes. It also includes costs to fix these devices.

8. Acupuncture
It does not even need to be doctor recommended to have acupuncture deducted.

9. Christian Science Practitioners
These practitioners use prayer to help a person heal and receive medical care. Costs for their services are deductible.

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