IF tax deduction for OOP expenses

cupcake122

Thankfully my amazing insurance has covered everything thus far, but I know I'm in the minority there. I came across this article and thought i would pass it along to those who are OOP. Hope it's helpful

https://www.ehow.com/facts_6709956_tax-credit-treatment-infertility.html

Pintobean39

I'm an accountant and remember to keep track of your mileage as that is also deductible. I keep a spread sheet all year of every appt and even every time I have to go to the pharmacy.

TTCBabyJ

@LLM100811‌ that really sucks Cigna in CA actually covers IVF. But of course I don't have Cigna But I can honestly say I've been looking for jobs here that offer Cigna. I have an HMO that covers everything at 50% except for ivf. Not the worst coverage but definitely not the best.

bravegrace22

LLM100811- i also have Cigna, just had to finally make the switch to my husband's from BCBS and now I'm kicking myself for not starting all of this sooner because I soon realized that they don't cover anything with our plan. As a company they do over coverage, but it depends on the state, issuing company, and plan. I looked up Massachusetts state laws on IF coverage and found that it is a requirement to offer coverage. However, when I asked Cigna during one of my many very long phone calls inquiring about how exactly everything on our plan works, I was informed that yes, this is true and I could ask the HR department about additional coverage, EXCEPT if it was privately funded in which case the co. can get around that law.--Basically before he had finished telling me that, he said that my husband's co plan is privately funded grreeaattt. Anywho, I'd recommend looking into your state laws and contact your HR department to ask about more coverage. Good luck!!!  

Rachaeleigh

Pintobean39 said:

I'm an accountant and remember to keep track of your mileage as that is also deductible. I keep a spread sheet all year of every appt and even every time I have to go to the pharmacy.

@Pintobean39‌ this makes me wonder if parking is deductible?

cupcake122

I have horizon BCBS
I'm a state employee so it's a special plan that thankfully covers a lot. I'm not sure if it will cover IVF if we come to that

Pintobean39

@Rachaeleigh‌ Yes parking and an toll charges are decuctable assuming your expenses exceed 10% of AGI.

@IFinTN‌ I think airfare is also deductible. I don't do taxes and actually only worked 1 tax season at a CPA firm in 1997. I also haven't studied tax law since 1999 when I took my CPA. So some stuff is fuzzy, but I'm thinking if I remember correctly there is a per diem for meals and lodging for medical expenses if you have to go out of town. I have my IRS code books somewhere of course they are outdated but I'll have to do a little research. I have everything tabbed and highlighted on the important stuff.

Pintobean39

@IFinTN‌ this is per IRS publication 502. Looks like lodging is deductible but only $50 a night and $100 if your husband is with you. From what I see meals are only included in inpatient settings.

A few other things: you can deduct the cost of pregnancy test, there is no specification for OPK's so I'd assume they aren't deductible. You can't deduct any supplements such as prenatal vitamins or coq10. Anything that you have a RX for is deductible.



Lodging
You can include in medical expenses the cost of meals and lodging at a hospital or similar institution if a principal reason for being there is to receive medical care. See Nursing Home, later.
You may be able to include in medical expenses the cost of lodging not provided in a hospital or similar institu- tion. You can include the cost of such lodging while away from home if all of the following requirements are met.
1. The lodging is primarily for and essential to medical care.
2. The medical care is provided by a doctor in a licensed hospital or in a medical care facility related to, or the equivalent of, a licensed hospital.
3. The lodging is not lavish or extravagant under the cir- cumstances.
4. There is no significant element of personal pleasure, recreation, or vacation in the travel away from home.
The amount you include in medical expenses for lodg- ing cannot be more than $50 for each night for each per- son. You can include lodging for a person traveling with the person receiving the medical care. For example, if a parent is traveling with a sick child, up to $100 per night can be included as a medical expense for lodging. Meals are not included.
Do not include the cost of lodging while away from home for medical treatment if that treatment is not re- ceived from a doctor in a licensed hospital or in a medical care facility related to, or the equivalent of, a licensed hospital or if that lodging is not primarily for or essential to the medical care received.

Pintobean39

Here is what the IRS says specifically about transportation. I'm such a nerd, I love looking this stuff up.


Transportation
You can include in medical expenses amounts paid for transportation primarily for, and essential to, medical care.
You can include:
Bus, taxi, train, or plane fares or ambulance service,
Transportation expenses of a parent who must go with a child who needs medical care,
Transportation expenses of a nurse or other person who can give injections, medications, or other treat- ment required by a patient who is traveling to get med- ical care and is unable to travel alone, and


Transportation expenses for regular visits to see a mentally ill dependent, if these visits are recommen- ded as a part of treatment.
Car expenses. You can include out-of-pocket expenses, such as the cost of gas and oil, when you use a car for medical reasons. You cannot include depreciation, insur- ance, general repair, or maintenance expenses.
If you do not want to use your actual expenses for 2013, you can use the standard medical mileage rate of 24 cents a mile.
You can also include parking fees and tolls. You can add these fees and tolls to your medical expenses whether you use actual expenses or the standard mileage rate.
Example. In 2013, Bill Jones drove 2,800 miles for medical reasons. He spent $500 for gas, $30 for oil, and $100 for tolls and parking. He wants to figure the amount he can include in medical expenses both ways to see which gives him the greater deduction.
He figures the actual expenses first. He adds the $500 for gas, the $30 for oil, and the $100 for tolls and parking for a total of $630.
He then figures the standard mileage amount. He multi- plies 2,800 miles by 24 cents a mile for a total of $672. He then adds the $100 tolls and parking for a total of $772.
Bill includes the $772 of car expenses with his other medical expenses for the year because the $772 is more than the $630 he figured using actual expenses.

Transportation expenses you cannot include. You cannot include in medical expenses the cost of transpor- tation in the following situations.
Going to and from work, even if your condition re- quires an unusual means of transportation.
Travel for purely personal reasons to another city for an operation or other medical care.
Travel that is merely for the general improvement of one's health.
The costs of operating a specially equipped car for other than medical reasons.

JericaLH

@cupcake122 this could REALLY come in handy! DH's company provides UPMC and normally we pay nothing. But on IF they only cover up to diagnosis. I'm assuming bloodwork and HSG will be covered as DH's SA was, but my Clomid was not. So it looks like we will be 100% OOP soon... It would be nice to be able to get some of that money back! Thanks!

athlete010688

Pintobean39 said:

I'm an accountant and remember to keep track of your mileage as that is also deductible. I keep a spread sheet all year of every appt and even every time I have to go to the pharmacy.

Good to know...thanks!  Luckily, I haven't had too many appointments yet, so this should be easy to go back and figure out!

dancerspose

Great information, thanks for sharing!  My insurance covers everything up until treatment so we'll have to see what our plan of action is once we get to that point.

Chasity08

I don't know if this is helpful at all, but I have a United Healthcare plan (I actually had a different UHC plan as well last year and it covered as well) and it covers IF up to $25k. I just have to meet my yearly deductible first (of course) and then it covers at the same percentage as everything else in my plan (my specific plan covers at 90% after the deductible).

My husband works for Gamestop, so that is who our plan is through, but I'm sure there are other UHC plans that would provide as well. I hope that's helpful for anyone searching for carriers.

I hope that's helpful! Good luck ladies. Sorry to hijack this post if I did! Just saw ladies talking about different plans!