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Show Medical expenses can benefit By KENNETH J. ROSE Business Counselor Rose & Associates The deduction for medical expenses ex-penses has almost become a thing of the past for most taxpayers. Since the 1986 Tax Reform Act federal tax laws limit the deduction to the excess over 7.5 percent of adjusted ad-justed gross income. For a normal, healthy family the expenses never exceed that floor, but if you have some special health problems in a given year, you might be able to take advantage of the deduction. Families who have a new baby in the blind. Expenses that are not deductible are medicine that you buy without a prescription, toothpaste and other toiletries, illegal operations or treatment, maternity clothes, or nursing nur-sing care for a healthy baby. Also not deductible are the expenses of a trip for general health improvement, weight loss programs, programs to stop smoking, health club dues, and social activities such as dancing or swimming lessons. If a medical deduction is a possibility possi-bility for your tax return, make sure that you are getting all the deductions deduc-tions that you can. the year, or perhaps a death in the family with a lot of high medical expenses before the death may qualify qual-ify for the deduction. Remember that the expenses have to be incurred in-curred in behalf of a dependent, but if you are responsible for the medical expenses, you can include those costs in determining whether or not you provided more than half of the support for that dependent. Doctor and hospital costs are the obvious items to include in your deductible expenses, as are dentists, eyeglasses, contact lenses, false teeth, hearing aids, insurance premiums (don't forget insurance premiums deducted from your paycheck) and prescription medication. medica-tion. But there are other items that could be deductible as well. Ambulance service, either on the ground or in the air, could be included, in-cluded, as could the cost of travel if the illness requires going to a different location to receive treatment. treat-ment. Even mileage to and from doctors' offices to receive care for regular illnesses of you and your family can be deductible. Meals and lodging for overnight stays are deductible also. Psychiatric care or treatment at a drug or alcohol center (including meals and lodging) can also be deductible. Don't forget special medical equipment or facilities, including in-cluding capital improvements, to accommodate a sick person in your home, or wages for nursing care. Some more unusual expenses that could be included in your deduction are the cost of a special school or home for mentally or physically handicapped persons and the cost and care of a guide dog for |