Section 213 specifically states that the deduction is
available only for amounts actually paid for medical care.
There are also very detailed substantiation requirements to
prove that you actually paid the amount of the expense.
Therefore, it appears there is no deduction for an item not
paid in cash regardless of the type (travel, hospital,
prescriptions, etc).

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**THE-RFI-EMI-GUY** wrote:

- quote -

Q1. No, you had no cost basis in the tickets.
Q2. No, you didn't incur any driving expense.

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Last year my wife, son and I travelled to a medical clinic
at LSU New Orleans and then on Mayo Clinic in Minneapolis
for medical treatment for an injury my son sustained in an
accident. The New Orleans to Minneapolis and Minneapolis
home legs were via plane using my frequent flyer mileage.
Since these miles are valuable and thus no longer available
to us, is there any way to deduct the value of these tickets
as a portion of our 2004 medical expenses (which I beleive
will be sufficient to trigger the deductions)? If not, can I
claim the mileage as if these were driven?

Thanks

--
Joe Leikhim K4SAT
"The RFI-EMI-GUY"

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