Tax Deduction for Travel and Transportation for Medical Reasons

If you are in a position to claim a tax deduction for medical expenses; that is, you itemize deductions and your total deductible medical expenses are more than 7.5% of your adjusted gross income, you can include certain travel and transportation expenses you incur for medical purposes.

According to the IRS, you can deduct the costs of transportation to receive medical care. This includes bus, taxi, train, plane, or ambulance services. The transportation expenses of a parent who accompanies a child to receive medical care are deductible. And the transportation expenses of a nurse or other person who can give injections, medications, or other treatment needed by a patient who cannot travel alone are deductible. Transportation expenses to visit a mentally ill dependent are also deductible if the visits are recommended as part of the treatment.

If you use your own vehicle, you can claim a deduction for actual out-of-pocket expenses, such as for gas and oil, but not for depreciation, insurance, or general repairs and maintenance. Or you can use the standard mileage rate. The standard mileage rate for 2011 is 19 cents a mile for the period January 1 through June 30, and 23.5 cents from July 1 to December 31. The standard mileage rate is subject to change each year or half-year, and you can find the current rates on the IRS website. Whether you use actual costs or the standard mileage rate, you can add the cost of parking and tolls.

You can deduct the cost of meals and lodging at a hospital or similar institution if your principal reason for being there is to receive medical care. If you travel to another location primarily for and essential to medical care, you can deduct up to $50 a night for the cost of lodging. You can include a person traveling with the person receiving the medical care. For example, a parent traveling with a child could deduct up to $100 per night. This would also apply for a person traveling with a spouse, parent, or other person who can be claimed as a dependent. The cost of meals would not be deductible.

In order to claim the deduction for lodging, the medical care must be provided by a doctor in a licensed hospital or medical care facility. And according to the IRS, there must not be a "significant element of personal pleasure, recreation, or vacation in the travel away from home".

You can deduct the cost of admission and transportation to a medical conference regarding a chronic illness of yourself, your spouse, or a dependent. The cost of meals and lodging while attending a conference would not be deductible.

According to the IRS, the cost of a trip to another city is deductible if the trip is "primarily for, and essential to, receiving medical services." As indicated above, you could deduct the cost of transportation by bus, train, plane, or either the actual costs or the standard mileage rate if you drive.

As indicated by George Saenz, CPA, in an article for Bankrate, there is no requirement that the medical services be performed in the U.S. in order to be deductible. So if you travel outside the U.S. for a surgical procedure or other medical treatment, your travel expenses would be deductible. This is provided the procedure or treatment is included among the medical expenses that are tax-deductible, and there is no significant element of personal pleasure, recreation, or vacation in the trip.

Sources:

Deductible Medical Travel and Transportation Costs, Lawyers.com

George Saenz, CPA, Foreign medical care deductible, Bankrate

IRS Announces 2011 Standard Mileage Rates, IRS