From the Archives A discussion about taxes Lauren, Julie, and Victoria

Imogene

Administrator

These tax conversations are meant to remind you of tax deductions in the United States that may be related to your healthcare expenses. Taxes are due April 15th but you may qualify for an extension or amendments to prior years. Any tax questions should be addressed to your personal accountant. Three of our e-Patient members, Lauren, Victoria and Julie have organized information on CF healthcare costs and tax deductions. These Health Opinion Leaders (HOLs) explain which expenses qualify for deduction and how to track expenses. They have created roughly fifteen minutes of engaging and polished footage on this very valuable topic. These are the topics they will cover. 1. What sort of medical expenses are deductible? 2. What is AGI or adjustible gross income, and how do I know if I should itemize or just take the standard deduction? How much do I need to have in deductions in order to be able to use them? 3. Can a caregiver use these deductions too? 4. What about special equipment and materials for cleaning my nebulizers? 5. What about things we wouldn’t be doing if it weren’t for CF, such as special disinfecting cleaning products and HEPA filters for indoor air purification? NUTRITION: 6. Obviously healthy people eat food, how do I know what I can attribute to CF? 7. Is there a simple way to keep track of my food expenses? 8. My child drinks nutritional drinks recommended by the doctor. Are those 100% deductible, or must a percentage be deducted that would not be attributable to CF. 9. Are my vitamins deductible? 10. What about other vitamins, minerals and other supplements such as probiotics? EXERCISE: 11. Is there a way to deduct my gym membership? CF CLINIC: 12. the travel to my CF center deductible? Can I deduct miles to and from the doctor? 13. Can I deduct anything related to my transplant? 14. What about when my child is inpatient, can I deduct visitation mileage, parking, hotel and food? BACK AT HOME: 15. Are home improvements deductible? / Can I claim home improvements that I made as a deduction? 16. Can I deduct the cost of trash? 17. How do I deduct electricity? (Watt rating from back of machine X 0.001) X = your average kwh cost from your electric bill X # of hours machine was used for the year. GOVERNMENT AID: 18. Is my social security disability or SSI taxable? 19. Do I need to claim that $250 I received last year as part of the Recovery Act? CLOSING: 20. What cannot be taken as a medical deduction? 21. Are there any other tax updates this year that could benefit people with CF? Disclaimer: These tax advisory videos are for informational purposes only and are intended to remind you of tax deductions related to your healthcare expenses. Any tax questions should be addressed to your personal accountant.
 
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