Medical deduction - celiac disease

[marisa7]

My son has celiac disease and we claim the additional cost of gluten-free items as part of medical expenses. Where in the medical deductions section of Turbo Tax do I put this? The section asks about specific categories like eye care, prescriptions, lab fees, etc. Does the gluten-free expense number go under "Other" medical expenses?

[AlanT222]

Doctor-prescribed foods to treat a medical condition (e.g., celiac disease, obesity or hypertension) may be partially deductible. Only the cost of special foods that exceeds the cost for regular foods is deductible, which can be difficult to prove.

[marisa7]

Yup, I have a letter from my son's doctor, a spreadsheet with all of the gluten-free food, a comparable gluten containing food, a calculation for the additional cost, and receipts for every single purchase. My question is which section in Turbo Tax should this number get entered? I know it's under Medical Expenses, but medical expenses are broken down into the categories. Which category would the food cost go under?

[JamesG1]

I would post the costs on the screen Tell us about any other medical expenses.

The Description may carry over to the tax return.  ‘Celiac disease’ would be sufficient.

[jjberg208]

This is exactly how I have documented my cost of food for Celiac Disease on my tax returns for the past three years.  It’s also important to keep ALL of your receipts of all gluten free foods, it can be a bit of a chore, but it’s a necessary evil

[JohnW222]

@jjberg208 makes some important observations for claiming a deduction that relates to a special diet for a medical condition.

Please also see the TurboTax article Medical Expenses Checklist for additional information.