IRS

[Teri Anne]

Wow, lotta fireworks.  Thanx Leigh, Dawn and Dennis for giving the responses that I was thinking of.  I believe that Minnessota pays for SRS (or they used to).  I know several friends who have deducted SRS and facial reconstruction on their U.S. taxes -- Our ability to find work is directly related to whether or not we look passable as average women.  No one wants to hire someone they deem to be a freak. 

Cosmetic surgery, or more properly "craneo-facial reconstruction," can mean, for us, the difference between life (as a woman) or death.

Teri Anne

[HelenW]

A quote from the URL that Leigh provided for us:

"Whether gender reassignment surgery is a treatment for an illness or disease is
controversial. For instance, Johns Hopkins Hospital has closed its gender
reassignment clinic and ceased performing these operations. See, Surgical Sex, Dr.
Paul McHugh, 2004 First Things 147 (November 2004) 34-38."

This led me to do some reading on Dr. McHugh.  I find that he was the primary force behind the closing of the Johns Hopkins Gender Clinic in 1979 actually admitting later on that he came in as Head of Psychiatry with the idea of closing it.  He's proud of it.  He also is a scientific advisor to both the Vatican and the US Executive branch specializing in psychiatry and sexual/gender issues.  The publication, First Things is published by the church, the same church that denied transexuality exists in 2000.  Dr. McHugh is of the same ilk as Ray Blanchard (who gets dissed in McHugh's article) and Micheal Bailey in his condemnation of transexualism.

The link between this IRS ruling and a religiously influenced psychiatric ideologue doesn't surprise me as much as it scares me, considering the political climate in the US today.  I hope and pray that this IRS ruling is vigorously denied on appeal.  My cynicism tells me though, that this will be a false hope.

helen

[AmyNYC]

Here's my question... What's the status of electrolysis as a deduction?  None of the cases we've discussed seem to mention it.

I can guess what the answer is.  It's not.  My guess is the IRS would laugh at anyone who tried to deduct it.  But I'd like to know what the people here who think SRS and HRT are legitimate deductions think about it?  And has anyone here ever listed it as a deduction?

If the IRS is willing to concede that HRT, therapy, and SRS are medically necessary, and therefore legitimate deductions, why not electrolysis?  I will be fair and say that some electrolysis for transsexuals might be cosmetic.  In other words, I'm planning on having some areas other than face done, and they are areas that I could not have done and still live a passable life as a woman.  But I can't imagine the face is arguable.  You can't live a normal life as a woman with a face full of hair, therefore it's not cosmetic, and should be included in the treatments that are deductible.

Amy

[Erica78]

I figured there would be at least one or two C.P.A.'s here...hehe