Is Cord Blood Banking Tax Deductible?

[NCAAFBALLROX]

According to this link, it's a grey area:

http://www.ehow.com/about_4728483_co...eductible.html

What the IRS Says
Come tax time if you itemize expenses on your 1040 form, you can claim a deduction for any medical expense which exceeds 7.5 percent of your Adjusted Gross income.
To help you figure out what is and is not deductible, the IRS publication number 502 titled "Medical and Dental Expenses" will give you a listing of allowed deductions. This publication makes no mention of cord blood banking.

This is outside the guise of an FSA.

http://www.irs.gov/publications/p502/index.html

Opine, Shaggy. Opine.

[midtown]

My guess is that since it's elective then no.

[KC-97HORN]

My guess is that since it's elective then no.

im pretty sure that the IRS only says "medical expense that exceed $___ " (the threashold.)

even though it may be elective, that still is a medical expense.


the IRS isnt that good at being specific, remember these are the same folks that had to be told by a judge that boob implants in a stripper are a legitimate business investment and medical procedure.

[midtown]

the IRS isnt that good at being specific, remember these are the same folks that had to be told by a judge that boob implants in a stripper are a legitimate business investment and medical procedure.

She lost that case.

[NCAAFBALLROX]

But didn't we, as a society, gain?

[Macallan12's Better Half]

The litmus test for the IRS is that deductible medical expenses must affect the "structure and function" of the body and must have a medical reason and not be just cosmetic in nature. Elective medical expenses can qualify as long as they are not purely cosmetic.

If there is no code and no case law on cord blood storage then it's really a "pick 'em." What I tell my clients in situations like this is that if they do take the deduction, worst case scenario is that they would have to pay the tax plus interest & penalty in case of an audit, the odds of which are probably somewhere between 1% and 5%.