<<Disclaimer: Verify this information before applying it to your situation.>>

    There has been some discussion, and more than a
little confussion, in the last few weeks about celiac
related medical deductions. Here are some basics:

1) In the US, your medical deductions must go over a
   7% threshold before you get anything back:

      at $40,000, medical must be over $2,800
      at $60,000                  over $4,200
      at $80,000                  over $5,600

2) Some medical deductions people forget:

     a) Your insurance premium. For most people it's
        the biggest expense and the easiest one to
        forget because most of us don't write a check
        for it. We join a health plan at work and our
        employer takes the premium out of our paycheck
        automatically - out of sight, out of mind!

        Typical family premium: $4,000/year

     b) Mileage to/from medical appointments

     c) If you are paid by the hour, time off from
         work for medical reasons is deductible

3) One time expenses for the year you went GF:

     - If you just went GF it is because you just
       got diagnosed so there are extra doc/lab
       expenses this year.

     - did you replace a wooden bread-board and
       wooden cooking spoons to avoid cross
       contamination? The cost of the new ones
       is a legitimate medical expense.

     - Did you buy a bread machine so you can
       make your own bread? That cost is deductible.

     - Did you buy a small freezer to keep GF
       food items in. Not as silly as you think:
       we buy flours, bagels, some breads, ...
       mail order. If we just order what we can
       use immediatelly the shiping cost doubles
       the price of the food. If we buy 1-2
       month's worth the shipping cost gets
       amortized over the lot; but now we need a
       freezer to store these foods in.
       Considering that celiac is a life-long
       disease and a GF diet is the only treatment
       buying these foods 'in bulk' and using a
       freezer is cheaper than buying-as-you-use.

So, what does this all add up to for a 'typical' GF
family?

Insurance premium               $4,000
Mileage                         $  100
   5 trips to the doctor
   1 trip to celiac specialist
       for annual check-up
Doctor fees                     $   90
   6 visit co-pays (@$15 each)
Lab fees                        $   30
   2 @ $15 each
Medicines (average)             $  100
   1 med. for chronic condition
   5 meds. for 'stuff' this year
        (an antibiotic, ...)
GF food premium                 $  750
   ( for a 2 celiac family )
---------------------------------------
 TOTAL FOR THE YEAR             $5,070

If your income was $50,000 your
  deduction threshold is        $3,500 (7% of 50,000)
                               --------
Your qualifying deduction is    $1,570 (5,070-3,500)

    That will reduce your taxes ( or increase your
refund) by over $300. And if you just went GF this
year, add another $200 to your refund ( assuming
diagnosis doc/lab expenses and new wooden kitchen
utensils, bread machine and freezer add up to $1,000).

Bottom line for this 'typical' case:

  - $300 refund - you've just covered half of your
                  GF food premium for this year!

  - $500 refund - if you just got diagnosed and went
                  GF last year. You've just covered
                  2/3 of your GF food premium for
                  this year!

Regards ...





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