- 11 -
adjusted gross income. See sec. 213(a). As pertinent here,
section 213(d)(1)(A) defines the term “medical care” to mean
“amounts paid for the * * * cure, mitigation, treatment, or
prevention of disease, or for the purpose of affecting any
structure or function of the body”. Section 1.213-1(e)(1)(ii),
Income Tax Regs., provides that “Deductions for expenditures for
medical care allowable under section 213 will be confined strict-
ly to expenses incurred primarily for the prevention or allevia-
tion of a physical or mental defect or illness.” An expenditure
that “is merely beneficial to the general health of an individ-
ual, such as an expenditure for a vacation, is not an expenditure
for medical care.” Id. Capital expenditures generally are not
deductible. See sec. 263 and the regulations thereunder.
However, an expenditure which otherwise qualifies as a
medical expense under section 213 shall not be disqual-
ified merely because it is a capital expenditure. For
purposes of section 213 and this paragraph, a capital
expenditure made by the taxpayer may qualify as a
medical expense, if it has as its primary purpose the
medical care (as defined in subdivisions (i) and (ii)
of this subparagraph) of the taxpayer, his spouse, or
his dependent. Thus, a capital expenditure which is
related only to the sick person and is not related to
permanent improvement or betterment of property, if it
otherwise qualifies as an expenditure for medical care,
shall be deductible * * *. Moreover, a capital expen-
diture for permanent improvement or betterment of
property which would not ordinarily be for the purpose
of medical care (within the meaning of this paragraph)
may, nevertheless, qualify as a medical expense to the
extent that the expenditure exceeds the increase in the
value of the related property, if the particular expen-
diture is related directly to medical care. Such a
situation could arise, for example, where a taxpayer is
advised by a physician to install an elevator in his
Page: Previous 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 Next
Last modified: May 25, 2011