- quote -

I am a tax professional and my Mother is buying some of her
prescription drugs from a Canadian pharmacy. I will be
taking the medical deduction for those purchases on her 2003
tax return. She has a prescription, her doctor signed all
the forms regarding her medical condition and these are
legal drugs. The customs sticker is on each package that
comes into the states and none have been rejected by US
customs.

Actually, since the cost of these drugs is far below what
she would be paying in the states, her medical deduction is
lower than what it would be otherwise.

Linda

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- quote -

"One entry found for procure.
Main Entry: pro=B7cure
Pronunciation: pr&-'kyur, prO-
Function: verb
Inflected Form(s): pro=B7cured; pro=B7cur=B7ing
Etymology: Middle English, from Late Latin procurare,
from Latin, to take care of, from pro- for + cura care
Date: 14th century
transitive senses
a : to get possession of : obtain by particular care and effort
b : to get and make available for promiscuous sexual intercourse."

'a' is self explanatory, however 'b' might limit the application to
Viagra.

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"A.G. Kalman" <agk202[at]netscape.net> wrote:

- quote -

From: TaxHelp[at]hal1.ausc.irs.gov Add to Address Book
Subject: IRS Email Tax Law Assistance
To: cpabakem1[at]yahoo.com

NOTE: Our response to your tax law question appears below.
If you have a follow-up question or another general tax law
question, please return to our web site at:
(http://www.irs.gov/help/page/0,,id=13162,00.html)
to submit it. Please do not use your "reply" button to
respond to this message. More helpful information is
provided at the end of this message.

Your Question Was: "Can you deduct as an itemized medical
deduction prescriptions imported from Canada- either by mail
or by personal travel?

So I m at this holiday party when someone asks me if his
mother can deduct the costs of Rx drugs that she receives
via mail from Canada. I said that I doubted it as the drugs
are illegal and the IRC specifically excludes illegal drugs
from the deduction. I also said that I was unaware of any
ruling that differentiated Rx drugs from street drugs in the
definition of illegal drugs.

After the party, I researched the question. IRC Sec 212 and
its Regs state: The term medicine and drugs shall include
only items which are legally procured and which are
generally accepted as falling within the category of
medicine and drugs (whether or not requiring a
prescription).

The following excerpt is from Title 21 USC 381(d)(1)
(Federal Food, Drug & Cosmetic Act) and is the section of
the Act that makes it illegal to import an Rx drug from
outside the U.S. that has been manufactured in the U.S. and
exported. Sec. 381(d)(1) Reimportation Except as provided
in paragraph (2) and section 384 of this title, no drug
subject to section 353(b) of this title or composed wholly
or partly of insulin which is manufactured in a State and
exported may be imported into the United States unless the
drug is imported by the manufacturer of the drug.

************************************************
IS THIS ASSUMPTION CORRECT?

The Answer To Your Question Is:

Your basic assumption is correct. An illegally obtained drug,
whether prescription or street, would not be deductible. The
debate is on going concerning the legallity of prescriptions
obtained in Canada. At this time, Canadian prescriptions are
deductible. If the debate is resolved in favor of outlawing
the importation of prescriptions, then they will not be ductible.

We recommend that you closely monitor the debate.
*******************************

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(This is speculation, without researching the law. If the
moderator deems it unsuitable, sobeit.)

A.G. Kalman wrote:
- quote -

OK, I'll snip the excerpt. But, as tax preparers who
are not lawyers, we're not supposed to be interpreting
non-tax laws. That being said, and with whatever disclaimers
required to note that this is NOT LEGAL ADVICE, it appears to
be legal for an individual to GO TO Canada and bring back
prescription drugs for their own use. In any case, Customs
doesn't prevent people from bringing back prescription drugs
from Canada or Mexico. And, there are some provisions of the
Code where "illegal" is defined as contrary to an ENFORCED law --
the definition of "dependent" requiring the living arrangement
to be "legal" comes to mind.

It may depend on the definition of "import" as referenced in
21 USC 301(d)(1), or on the question of whether the drug really
is manufactured in the US or in Canada. That particular section
only bans reimports, not imports per se.

If the querent's mother were my client, I'd have to do
more research -- preferably retained through a lawyer.

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A.G. Kalman wrote:

- quote -

Wellllll..... I dunno.

As Clinton said, depends on how you define "is". or
something inane like that.

How does IRS define illegal? I'm thinking they mean
non-prescription drugs bought on the street, you know like
the addictive ones. what does the tax code say? How does it
define illegal? I'm not sure it would refer to another
statute's definition.

If a senior citizen who itemizes buys his drugs from Canada
and has a prescription and has a receipt, then he gets the
deduction. In my office so far.

Christmas Cheer$,
Harlan Lunsford, EA n LA

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"A.G. Kalman" <agk202[at]netscape.net> wrote:

- quote -

Not a direct answer but my Medigap Insurer (AARP/United
health) will pay on claims from Canadian Pharmacies.

While I suspect that Art is correct, I would still include
my unreimbused Canadian Drug costs in my medical deduction
(if I had enough deductions to itemize) and take my chances

--
Avrum Lapin avrum113[at]earthlink.net
Upland CA Remove NOSPAM from address

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A.G. Kalman <agk202[at]netscape.net> wrote:

- quote -

Define "Procured."

If Procured means acquired, purchased, bought, ... then the
drugs acquired, purchased/bought in Canada, and later
illegally imported into the US seem to meet Sec 212.

But if procured includes importing, transporting into the
United States, or similar, that seems in conflict with 212.

Since 21 USC 381 uses the term import and does not use
procured, and since 212 uses procured and not import, that
could possibly provide you with the breathing room you seek.

Of course I'm not a lawyer.

- quote -

__
Art Kamlet ArtKamlet [at] AOL.com Columbus OH K2PZH

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So I'm at this holiday party when someone asks me if his
mother can deduct the costs of Rx drugs that she receives
via mail from Canada. I said that I doubted it as the drugs
are illegal and the IRC specifically excludes illegal drugs
from the deduction. I also said that I was unaware of any
ruling that differentiated Rx drugs from street drugs in the
definition of illegal drugs.

After the party, I researched the question.

IRC Sec 212 and its Regs state:

"The term 'medicine and drugs' shall include only items
which are legally procured and which are generally accepted
as falling within the category of medicine and drugs
(whether or not requiring a prescription)."

The following excerpt is from Title 21 USC 381(d)(1)
(Federal Food, Drug & Cosmetic Act) and is the section of
the Act that makes it illegal to import an Rx drug from
outside the U.S. that has been manufactured in the U.S. and
exported.

"Sec. 381(d)(1) Reimportation
Except as provided in paragraph (2) and section 384 of this
title, no drug subject to section 353(b) of this title or
composed wholly or partly of insulin which is manufactured
in a State and exported may be imported into the United
States unless the drug is imported by the manufacturer of
the drug."

It would seem that my opinion is supported by law.

Any comments...
Anyone know of an exception that may be relevant?

--

Alan
http://taxtopics.net

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