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Medical Expenses

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Tax Deductions for Medical Expenses

You may or may not be aware that certain medical expenses are tax deductible if your total medical payouts are equal to or greater than 7.5 percent of your total income. Whether you are aware of this or not, you may now be wondering where legal fees fit in. In fact, there are some circumstances where legal fees can be counted as tax-deductible medical expenses, so if you think that you may have enough in medical expenses to qualify for deductions, you may want to try to establish where your legal fees fit in as well.

What Legal Fees Qualify as Tax Deductible Medical Expenses?

In some cases, one may need to legally authorize that a person be treated for mental illness. In these cases, lawyers and legal fees may be required. If this is your situation, you are entitled to deduct those legal fees from your federal taxes. However you can only deduct the legal fees directly related to this authorization, not other expenses stemming from taking care of this person’s affairs while they are under treatment.

Are There Other Legal Fees Which Qualify as Tax Deductible Medical Expenses?

In general, the answer is no. Some legal expenses may be tax deductible for other reasons, but legal fees as medical expenses are only deductible for admitting someone for mental health treatment, not for guardianship affairs or for things like the legal fees related to a divorce, even if the divorce is a direct or indirect result of a medical problem.

What If You Have Questions About Legal Fees Qualifying as Tax Deductible Medical Expenses?

If you still have questions about your legal fees and how and when you can deduct them, you should consult the IRS website. This website is a comprehensive tax website that covers everything you will want to know about your taxes. In particular, you will want to examine Publication 502, which deals specifically with deductible medical and dental expenses. Alternatively, you can contact a qualified tax preparation professional and discuss the issue further with him or her.

Medical Expenses Support Center