- quote -

Thanks for the advice on this issue--I'll keep the medical
receipts along with a copy of my 2003 return, *just in case*
they're needed later.

Jean in VA

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Jean S. Barto <jsbarto1[at]cox.net> wrote:

- quote -

Sorry to hear about your accident.

IRS Publication 502 has a list of allowable and not
allowable medical deductions you can claim on Schedule A.

Gather all of your evidence, but do not send it along. If
the IRS has any questions, they'll ask later, and you will
have it all together and handy to copy and send to them.

As a general rule, if you have a deduction or credit you are
entitled to take, don't let fear of audit stop you. It's
to your benefit to claim your legitimate unreimbursed
medical deducitons, so claim them all.

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

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- quote -

You will probably get a dozen different opinions on this--or
however many responses you get.

My opinion would be no. You have the receipts. The risk
for audit is so small. Why draw attention to something that
*is* different.

Carol
What can one expect of a day that begins with getting out of bed.

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Maybe 20 years ago I handled an audit on medical expenses
for a elderly client. The IRS agent told me, kindly, that if
I had described her biggest expense as "dental" she might
not have been audited. She had a high figure for insurance
plus a high figure for total medical so they wondered why
her insurance didn't pay the bill.

Made sense to me. Too late.

Nan, EA in LA

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- quote -

Don't bother, it will not be read. Just keep your paper in
case of questions.

Helen, EA in PA
Member of The Tax Gang
Immediate Past President, PA Society of Enrolled Agents

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"Jean S. Barto" <jsbarto1[at]cox.net> wrote:

- quote -

Boy, you must have minimal insurance coverage if they won't
even cover the cost of your injuries from the bike accident!
I know the best part of my policy is the "out of pocket"
limit - $2,000 per year.

Anyway, do not attach any explanatory notes to your return.
Keep your records in a folder in your file drawer, so that
they are available if anyone has a problem with your
deduction.

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"Jean S. Barto" <jsbarto1[at]cox.net> wrote:

- quote -

Attaching an explanation will not really help. The data
input clerk, if you file manually, simply enters form and
line number and the dollar amount. Any notes are attached
and filed away. My experience is that a reviewing officer
never bothers to look at the physical file, so no one will
really know what you say. Since IRS does not do a
year-to-year comparison on returns, the fact that this year
is much higher than prior years will not affect your chances
of being audited.

You should not be afraid of an audit as long as you have
documentation for what you put on your return.

Lanny Williams
Nawarat, Williams & Co., Ltd.
Income Tax Services for Expatriate Americans

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Last summer I fell off my bicycle and badly dislocated my
elbow--and had a 2 day hospital stay, operation, home health
care, and over 3 months of intensive physical therapy to
regain use/feeling in my hand/arm. My total medical
expenses for 2003 are around 15K, with much of this being
unreimbursed expenses due to the accident (probably around
9K). The rest of my medical expenses are for private
medical insurance, long term care insurance, physician
copayments, and prescriptions.

Since this one unfortunate accident upped my medical
expenses so much for 2003, would it be wise for me to
include a note explaining this in my return? I have all the
receipts for all my medical expenses, including the
accident, and I have the amounts for the *accident* separate
in the medical deduction itemization in TurboTax.

I don't want to get audited, so I'll do what's best--shut up
and *don't* call more attention to it, or explain what
happend and hope for the best--but hopefully someone here
can tell me what to do.

Thanks in advance,

Jean in VA

--
"If you are going through hell, keep going."

Winston Churchill

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