Medical Conference Tax Deduction Is severe ADHD a chronic illness in the eyes of the IRS?

[Laura-Michele]

I see that medical conferences (Cost of entry to the conference and transportation to the conference) for chronic illnesses can be deductible if one is itemizing deductions. Is severe ADHD a chronic illness in the eyes of the IRS?

I attended the international conference on ADHD in which many doctors, psychiatrists and psychologists spoke about various treatments for the condition. With this qualify as a medical deduction?

[xmasbaby0]

Not sure if you are trying to say you yourself have ADHD or if you are just trying to use attending a medical conference on the topic as a medical deduction.   But....neither one will be a deduction on a Schedule A of itemized deductions such as mortgage interest, property tax, out of pocket medical expenses, etc.

MEDICAL EXPENSES

The medical expense deduction has to meet a rather large threshold before it can affect your return. The amount of medical (including dental, vision, etc.)  expenses that will count toward itemization is the amount that is OVER 7.5% of your adjusted gross income. You should only enter the amount that you paid in 2024—do not include any amounts that were covered by insurance or that are still outstanding.  Of course, your medical expenses plus your other itemized deductions still have to exceed your standard deduction before you will see a difference in your tax due or refund.

To enter your medical expenses go to Federal>Deductions and Credits>Medical>Medical Expenses

2024 STANDARD DEDUCTION AMOUNTS

SINGLE $14,600    (65 or older/legally blind + $1950)

MARRIED FILING SEPARATELY $14,600    (65 or older/legally blind + $1550)

MARRIED FILING JOINTLY $29,200    (65 or older/legally blind + $1550)

HEAD OF HOUSEHOLD $21,900    (65 or older/legally blind + $1950)

If you are trying to claim that you have a disability:

For disabled adults:

There is an extra amount added to your standard deduction if you are legally blind.   Your federal return does not provide any other credits or deductions for saying you are disabled, with one possible exception.  

There is a credit for the Elderly and Disabled which is so small that very few people benefit from it—-it has not been updated/increased by Congress for decades.

ELDERLY OR DISABLED CREDIT https://www.irs.gov/help/ita/do-i-qualify-for-the-credit-for-the-elderly-or-disabled

There are some states that provide various credits to elderly/disabled folks, so watch for that when you prepare your state return.   The states that I know of that have anything for elderly/disabled are AZ, CT, DE, IA, MO, ND, NJ, NY, VE.   There may be others.

Or-----are you self-employed?   If so, the trip for the medical conference may be a business expense that you can enter on your Schedule C, with other business expenses.

[xmasbaby0]

@Laura-Michele 

And....if you are a healthcare professional who gets a W-2---job-related expenses are not deductible on a federal tax return.

 Job-related expenses were eliminated as a federal deduction for W-2 employees by the tax laws that changed for 2018 and beyond.  Your state tax laws might be different in AL, AR, CA, HI, MN, NY or PA.

If you live in a state that lets you deduct job-related expenses, the information will flow from your federal return  to the state return, so enter it in Federal>Deductions and Credits>Employment Expenses>Job-Related Expenses

https://ttlc.intuit.com/turbotax-support/en-us/help-article/tax-credits-deductions/employees-deduct-...

[TomD8]

Here's the IRS rule on deducting medical conference expenses:

• Amounts paid made for admission and transportation to a medical conference relating to a chronic illness of you, your spouse, or your dependent (if the costs are primarily for and essential to necessary medical care). However, you may not deduct the costs for meals and lodging while attending the medical conference.

https://www.irs.gov/taxtopics/tc502

Definition of "chronically ill":

https://www.law.cornell.edu/definitions/uscode.php?width=840&height=800&iframe=true&def_id=26-USC-85...

[Opus 17]

The analysis that allowed this deduction was written in 2000, here is a copy.  Chronic illness is not defined more specifically, but see if the conference attendance is aligned with the fact pattern in the revenue ruling.

https://benefitslink.com/src/irs/revrul2000-24.html

[Opus 17]

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@TomD8 wrote:

Definition of "chronically ill":

https://www.law.cornell.edu/definitions/uscode.php?width=840&height=800&iframe=true&def_id=26-USC-85...

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It's not clear to me that the definition of chronically ill used to deduct long term care costs, applies in this case, see revenue ruling 2000-24.  The legal basis for coverage of attendance at medical conferences comes from a different section of the tax code than coverage of long term care for chronically ill individuals.

[Laura-Michele]

Thank you. The definition of  a "chronic illness" for tax purposes is not clear. I will compare my situation with the case that you referenced. Thanks for your help.