Question for Canadian's re: Income Tax Med Exp Write off

[Allcdngirl]

Do any of you from Canada know if you can write this off as medical expenses on your income taxes??

Thanks!

[Kittycat]

Do any of you from Canada know if you can write this off as medical expenses on your income taxes??

Thanks!

Hi Allcdngirl,

I was told yes you can....but to make sure, contact Revenue Canada....or even HR Block.

I am hoping so too...mines 15k here in Ontario.

Take Care Cathy

[BrooklynIrish59]

Hi all....I'm not from Canada, but I was interested in your post. I live in Indiana. I too, wondered about using my surgery as a Medial Expense Write off. I normally use H & R Block, so I called them. I guess I had more of a question since this was being done out of the country. The tax person I spoke to (not my regular tax preparer), said "gee, that's an interesting question, no one has ever asked me that before. Maybe you should call the IRS".

So I called them....they didn't have an answer right off the bat either, but we went through 20 questions and what it boiled down to was "is this procedure cosmetic or was it medically necessary?" "Has your doctor recommended you have weight loss surgery?"

At 5'1", 260 lbs and a BMI of 49, YEAH, it's medically necessary. If I wanted cosmetic surgery, I would have had those new head implants to make me taller, so I would no longer be overweight, just under-tall. (do I sound just a little sarcastic?)

In the event of an audit, I have obtained a note from my doctor stating due to several medical issues associated with obesity, it WAS her recommendation that I have weight loss surgery. Getting that note was a suggestion from the IRS dude!

I get banded on Monday 4/21....oh my only 4 more days to go! WOO HOO.

Barb

[Dolittle]

Hi all....I'm not from Canada, but I was interested in your post. I live in Indiana. I too, wondered about using my surgery as a Medial Expense Write off. I normally use H & R Block, so I called them. I guess I had more of a question since this was being done out of the country. The tax person I spoke to (not my regular tax preparer), said "gee, that's an interesting question, no one has ever asked me that before. Maybe you should call the IRS".

So I called them....they didn't have an answer right off the bat either, but we went through 20 questions and what it boiled down to was "is this procedure cosmetic or was it medically necessary?" "Has your doctor recommended you have weight loss surgery?"

At 5'1", 260 lbs and a BMI of 49, YEAH, it's medically necessary. If I wanted cosmetic surgery, I would have had those new head implants to make me taller, so I would no longer be overweight, just under-tall. (do I sound just a little sarcastic?)

In the event of an audit, I have obtained a note from my doctor stating due to several medical issues associated with obesity, it WAS her recommendation that I have weight loss surgery. Getting that note was a suggestion from the IRS dude!

I get banded on Monday 4/21....oh my only 4 more days to go! WOO HOO.

Barb

I wrote off my wife's and my lapband surgery. Also, all the expenses that went along with having the surgery. Like airfare to San Diego,, transportation to the airport and to the clinic, hotels, toll roads, gas for my car, parking at the airport, meals and ofcourse,, the surgery itself. I wrote it all off. I use Turbo Tax Deluxe. Plus,, I wrote off all the clothes I donated to Goodwill. The IRS didn't even blink an eye,, I already got my refund back. But,, when you write off medical expenses,, make sure you also list all your other medical expenses, like dental, chiro and anything else you spend during the year on your normal health care. It all adds up. The Turbo Tax program will walk you through everything.

[sunshinegirl]

You can write it off if the doctor is licensed in their jurisdiction. I read some of the act and it said surgery in canada or outside. I know when I had a tummy tuck I was able to write that off as well, but that was in canada. there's a lot to read but I googled; tax write off, surgery outside of the country. There's a lot of info on the US laws but eventually I got some canadian information.

[BrooklynIrish59]

I wrote off my wife's and my lapband surgery. Also, all the expenses that went along with having the surgery. Like airfare to San Diego,, transportation to the airport and to the clinic, hotels, toll roads, gas for my car, parking at the airport, meals and ofcourse,, the surgery itself. I wrote it all off. I use Turbo Tax Deluxe. Plus,, I wrote off all the clothes I donated to Goodwill. The IRS didn't even blink an eye,, I already got my refund back. But,, when you write off medical expenses,, make sure you also list all your other medical expenses, like dental, chiro and anything else you spend during the year on your normal health care. It all adds up. The Turbo Tax program will walk you through everything.

Doolittle,

How did you figure in the gas, unless you filled the car at the time and saved the receipt? I've already figured I can use the airfare cost and of course the cost of the surgery package. I'm having my fills back here in Indiana. I know I can deduct the cost of the fills, but what about getting to the doctors office? Chart mileage? I didn't think you could also include the cost of the meals too. The office that is going to do the fills is making me study a manual and take a 20 question quizz (understanding your band) at the time of my consult and first fill. They charged $75.00 for the manual. I'm guessing that comes off the taxes too!

My husband and I have had some added medical expenses this year, so I guess I'm concerned that this increase of medical cost is going to red flag my taxes. That's why I'm making sure I have that doctors note....just in case.

Barb

[Dolittle]

Doolittle,

How did you figure in the gas, unless you filled the car at the time and saved the receipt? I've already figured I can use the airfare cost and of course the cost of the surgery package. I'm having my fills back here in Indiana. I know I can deduct the cost of the fills, but what about getting to the doctors office? Chart mileage? I didn't think you could also include the cost of the meals too. The office that is going to do the fills is making me study a manual and take a 20 question quizz (understanding your band) at the time of my consult and first fill. They charged $75.00 for the manual. I'm guessing that comes off the taxes too!

My husband and I have had some added medical expenses this year, so I guess I'm concerned that this increase of medical cost is going to red flag my taxes. That's why I'm making sure I have that doctors note....just in case.

Barb

Hi Barb,, Check this link to the IRS publication #502. It will tell you what you can write off,, an example would be your transportation in your car,, they let you write off 20 cents a mile. So, like we had to drive to Chicago Midway airport when we flew to San Diego and from where I live its a 325 mile round trip,,,, Also,, a couple of my fills were done in TJ and a couple were done in Chicago,, So everytime I did a trip to Chicago I wrote off the mileage. So check the IRS publication,, you'll be surprised to what you can write off. I was nervous about writing off the medical stuff too. I hadn't went long form in ages and if you have insurance,, you most likely never have a high enough amount to write off,, so I thought I'd red flag them too,,, but I got all the receipts.

http://www.irs.gov/publications/p502/index.html

[Allcdngirl]

Just spoke to Canada Revenue. You CAN write off your surgery cost only. Cannot write off airfare, etc. if the surgery is available in Canada. Excellent!!!

[Kittycat]

Just spoke to Canada Revenue. You CAN write off your surgery cost only. Cannot write off airfare, etc. if the surgery is available in Canada. Excellent!!!

Thanks that's good to know....I am having sx in Canada at a cost of 15K!!!

I guess next year's income tax will be a nice one!

Cathy

[The Redhead]

WOO HOO!!!! That is SO good to know. Between the write-off for surgery cost and my daughters college tuition I should get a pretty nice tax return next year!! Thanks for checking that out!

[Cujo]

Bumping an old thread. Its an oldie but a goodie.

Nicole and my medical claim was just audited by canada revenue agency. As noted above, everything was accepted except the airfare and hotel (other than the parts buried in the OCC invoice.shhhh...don't tell)

Remember to claim for the fills, the ZOOM whitening and plastic surgeon consult as well. All were accepted by CRA.

Cheers,

Cujo

[RevyD]

I was told that we could use it for medical expences. Have my receipt and will try

Debbie

[Allcdngirl]

Glad to see this bumped.. I did submit the cost of the surgery, and have yet to be audited by Can Rev., but I'm sure it's coming!

[AlanaH]

I claimed in on my income tax ..... got a nice return and then as expected received a letter in the mail that I was being audited. I knew it was coming, I just hoped that they'd let me keep the money since it had already been spent! ;0 Well while I was in Florida a couple of weeks ago, a letter came and I have to pay about $85 back to them because I didn't include a doctor's note stating it was medically necessary (as if they couldn't tell by my initial weight???) and oh my fills were capped at $200 a year (I pay $75 a fill). I can pay that back, no biggie Good thing I kept everything together in my OCC folder! Hope everyone else gets some money back!!!

Alana