<<Disclaimer: Verify this information before applying it to your situation.>> This is a summary of the tax information I got: Keep in mind that it is not a bad idea to consuly your account on your plans. * Need a note or verification from your Dr that verifies that you have Celiac and that you are on a lifetime diet of GF foods. * The only deductible part of the cost is the difference between the cost of the GF food (PLUS shipping (big)) and the cost of the food normally. * Must keep receipts and supermarket flyers for proof.. * one person said:"If you buy a bread machine because you feel you have to make your own GF bread, then the machine is deductible. Same goes for a mixer, blender, food processor...any piece of equipment you need to prepare your GF foods" * You don't actually itemize the expenses. You use the receipts you keep to tally up an amount which you put on Sched A (Medical expenses) Some were discouraged by: * 1. The fact that GF is medical expense deductible as an ITEMIZED deduction on Schedule A of the 1040 individual tax return. When you compute it the total expense must be greater than 7.5% of your salary. (that 7.5% is not counted) * Notes: If you are a member of the Celiac Disease Foundation, they will send you a form that makes it very easy to keep your records to submit to IRS. spot in the Celiac page with information: http://www.celiac.com/tax.html heard from 3 Cpa's References:J.K. Lasser's Your Income Tax 2001, pages 318-319 (John Wiley & Sons, Inc.). Technically speaking (in a lot more detail): The cost of special foods or beverages is not a deductible medical expense if the food or beverages substitute for those normally consumed. The Tax Court has set its own standard for deducting the extra cost of special foods as medical costs. The test is to show a medical need for taking the special food and the extra cost of the health food over ordinary food. Only the extra cost is deductible. Under MEDICAL DEDUCTIONS list as "Extra cost of a gluten-free diet" the total amount of your extra expenses. You do not need to itemize these expenses Your IRS office may refer you to Publication 17 and tell you these deductions are not permissible. IRS representatives have ruled otherwise and this is applicable throughout the US Refer them to the following Citations: Revenue Ruling 55-261 Cohen 38 TC 387 Revenue Ruling 76-80, 67 TC 481 Flemming TC MEMO 1980 583 Van Kalb TC MEMO 1978 366 Revenue Ruling 76-80 is more on point in that it specifically discusses the deductibility of the additional costs one incurs in purchasing a special form of a product versus the normal cost of the "non-special" version. Additionally, if one has to purchase items that they would not otherwise purchase if not for the underlying medical condition (such as xanthan gum) then the full cost of such items are deductible. As far as the mechanics of the deduction are concerned, you must first establish the amount of your excess costs associated with the GF diet. This is done by maintaining detailed records of your purchases, as well as maintaining records of comparable "normal" products,umulating those costs and subtracting the costs of the "normal" versions of those products over the tax year in question.The deduction would then be taken as a medical deduction on schedule A of form 1040. To obtain the benefit of the deduction, then, you must first be able to itemize deductions,and you must have enough non-reimbursed medical expenses to exceed the threshold of 7.5% of your Adjusted Gross Income. The amount by which your aggregate medical expenses, including the additional cost of a GF diet, exceed that threshold amount would be deductible. Does anyone have any experiences or "rulings" on the legality of deducting as a medical expense the costs for attending a CSA/USA seminar? IRS publication 502 (Medical and Dental expense handbook) does not give any specific examples for seminars, but they do ok the cost of special schools for medical or physical reasons. I can rationalize the cost of a Celiac seminar as a medical "education" expense. According to Internal Revenue Code Section 213,travel expenses that may be deducted are those "primarily for and essential to medical care . . ." Regulation 1.213-1(e)(1)(i) defines medical care as "the diagnosis, cure, mitigation,treatment, or prevention of disease."