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TAX Deductible cosmetic procedures

Beauty is not in the eye of the beholder, regarding certain medical expenses covering cosmetic procedures.

In rulings issued over the past year, the IRS has clarified the rules regarding tax treatment of certain medical expenses.

As an overriding consideration, taxpayers who itemize may claim medical expenses only to the extent they exceed 7.5 percent of adjusted gross income.

More than one-third of taxpayers itemize, but fewer than six percent claim medical expenses.

The tax code holds a deduction is allowed for expenses not compensated for by insurance for medical care of the taxpayer, spouse or dependent.

However, that doesn't include cosmetic surgery unless it is to address a deformity, linked to a birth defect, or personal injury resulting from an accident or trauma or a disfiguring disease.

The IRS said breast reconstruction surgery could qualify for a deduction, when it is done as result of cancer, for example.

Even laser eye surgery may be deductible, because the IRS says it promotes proper function of the body.

But teeth whitening is viewed as outside the range of allowable deductions, because it doesn't treat a physical or mental disease or promote proper function of the body.

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