Question about IRS publication 907

[NGE_ABC_XYZ]

Hello.  My wife and I have a daughter with special needs.  She has spina bifida.  We send her to a private school because this particular school has a nurse on staff that can use a catheter (my daughter has no sensation or bowel or bladder so she requires a catheter on a set schedule).  In reviewing IRS publication 907, it says - "Costs for a school that furnishes special education if a principal reason for using the school is its resources for relieving a mental or physical disability."  I can assure you - the main reason we send our child to this particular school is because they have a nurse staff on site that can perform the biologically needed and required catheterization of my child.  Publication 907 just says "physical disability".  Does this allow me to claim a tax deduction for the cost of my daughter's private school?  Thank You!

[ColeenD3]

Unfortunately, no. Both Pub 907 and Pub 502 say the following:

You can include in medical expenses the cost (tuition, meals, and lodging) of attending a school that furnishes special education to help a child to overcome learning disabilities. For expenses to be deductible, a doctor must recommend that the child attend the school.

Overcoming the learning disabilities must be a principal reason for attending the school, and any ordinary education received must be incidental to the special education provided. Special education includes: Teaching Braille to a visually impaired person, Teaching lip reading to a hearing disabled person, or Giving remedial language training to correct a condition caused by a birth defect. You can't include in medical expenses the cost of sending a child with behavioral problems to a school where the course of study and the disciplinary methods have a beneficial effect on the child's attitude if the availability of medical care in the school isn't a principal reason for sending the student there.