Deductibility of the medical expenses incurred by same-sex couples seeking to have a baby.
Legally married same-same couples cannot write off on their tax return expenses that are not directly attributable to them that they incurred in the process of having a baby.
The IRS said that the same-sex couple can only deduct medical expenses related to treatments on their person. The rest of the medical expenses are not deductible.
A same-sex male couple would like to have a child who has as much representative DNA from the couple as possible. To achieve that one of the spouses will donate sperm, and the sister of the other spouse will donate the egg. A woman unrelated to the couple’s family will be used as a gestational surrogate to carry the child to term. The process will cost a lot of money.
The deductible expenses are therefore the following:
- Sperm freezing
- Medical expenses of sperm donation
Non-deductible expenses are as follows:
- Egg retrieval,
- In Vitro Fertilization (IVF) medical costs,
- Childbirth expenses for the surrogate,
- Surrogate medical insurance related to the pregnancy,
- Legal and agency fees for the surrogacy,
- Any other medical expenses arising from the surrogacy.
The tax law allows taxpayers to deduct expenses paid for medical care of the taxpayer if they exceed a certain amount. Medical care includes amounts paid for the diagnosis, cure, mitigation, treatment, or prevention of disease, or for the purpose of affecting any structure or function of the body.