What is considered medically "essential" travel vs "purely personal" medical travel?

[9ufshu]

Hi there, I'm trying to figure out if I can deduct my medical travel or not. I live in a rural, remote county with a severe healthcare shortage, long wait times, and low quality healthcare even when you can get an appointment. I have chronic health conditions so last year I was traveling frequently to another part of the state for medical treatment. I know that the costs of this treatment are essential enough to be deductible, but my concern is whether the travel is deductible, since technically I might have been able to get treatment for my conditions where I live -- it just would have taken months of delays, lower quality care, and also my continuity of care would have been disrupted since I've been seeing this team of specialists in another part of the state for several years now. Also the specialist I travel to see specializes in my condition specifically within her field, but I could have seen other specialists in the general field who can treat my condition, just with less expertise.

The IRS guidelines say that medical travel is NOT deductible if it's for "Travel for purely personal reasons to another city for an operation or other medical care." What on earth does that mean? Is more timely care, better quality of care, better availability of specialists for my condition, and continuity of care considered "purely personal reasons" to travel for medical care? Or would that be considered "essential" enough to be deductible? Thank you for any guidance.

[KrisD15 · Accepted solution]

"Travel for purely personal reasons to another city for an operation or other medical care." would be if you wanted to go to New York, so you go and while you're there, you see a dentist. That would be travel for purely personal reasons. 

If your team of doctors require travel to get to, the fact that there might be a walk-in clinic near you would not eliminate the ability to claim the miles you travel to get your medical care.  Yes, you could claim those miles if the reason for the travel is for the medical care and not to go shopping or visit relatives. 

[Bsch4477]

Your travel is deductible. 

Transportation

You can include in medical expenses amounts paid for transportation primarily for, and essential to, medical care.

You can include:

• Bus, taxi, train, or plane fares or ambulance service;

• Transportation expenses of a parent who must go with a child who needs medical care;

• Transportation expenses of a nurse or other person who can give injections, medications, or other treatment required by a patient who is traveling to get medical care and is unable to travel alone; and

• Transportation expenses for regular visits to see a mentally ill dependent, if these visits are recommended as a part of treatment.

Car expenses.

You can include out-of-pocket expenses, such as the cost of gas and oil, when you use a car for medical reasons. You can't include depreciation, insurance, general repair, or maintenance expenses.

If you don't want to use your actual expenses for 2024, you can use the standard medical mileage rate of 21 cents a mile.

You can also include parking fees and tolls. You can add these fees and tolls to your medical expenses whether you use actual expenses or the standard mileage rate.

Example.

In 2024, you drove 2,800 miles for medical reasons. You spent $400 for gas, $30 for oil, and $100 for tolls and parking. You want to figure the amount to include in medical expenses both ways to see which gives the greater deduction.

You figure the actual expenses first. You add the $400 for gas, the $30 for oil, and the $100 for tolls and parking for a total of $530.

You then figure the standard mileage amount. You multiply 2,800 miles by 21 cents a mile for a total of $588. Then you add the $100 tolls and parking and mileage for a total of $688 (588 + 100).

You include the $688 of car expenses with the other medical expenses for the year because the $688 is more than the $530 figured using actual expenses.

Transportation expenses you can't include.

You can't include in medical expenses the cost of transportation in the following situations.

• Going to and from work, even if your condition requires an unusual means of transportation.

• Travel for purely personal reasons to another city for an operation or other medical care.

• Travel that is merely for the general improvement of one's health.

• The costs of operating a specially equipped car for other than medical reasons.

[9ufshu]

Got it. Thank you!