Taxes and sex change surgery

AP/Houston Chronicle:

After a tormented existence as a father, a husband, a Coast Guardsman and a construction worker, a 57-year-old suburban Boston man underwent a sex-change operation. Then she wrote off the $25,000 in medical expenses on her 2001 taxes.

But the IRS disallowed the deduction — ruling the procedure was cosmetic, not a medical necessity — in a potentially precedent-setting dispute now before the U.S. Tax Court.

Rhiannon O'Donnabhain is suing the IRS in a case advocates for the transgendered are hoping will force the tax agency to treat sex-change surgery the same as appendectomies, heart bypasses and other deductible medical procedures. The case is set to go to trial July 24.

An estimated 1,600 to 2,000 people a year undergo sex-change surgery in the United States, according to the Gay and Lesbian Medical Association.

O'Donnabhain, 63, said she could have paid back the approximately $5,000 she received in her tax refund, but decided to challenge the IRS because she believes the ruling against her was rooted in politics and prejudice.

...

The IRS has a prejudice toward disallowing deductions. Their objective is toward collecting as much money as possible and challenging those who make unusual deductions. BTW, he/she could have probably saved the $5000 by having the operation in Thailand which has become a destination for this type of procedure.

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