college freshman with educational difficulties had the following expenses: NeurPsychological tests $2400 Medical and educational consultants $4500 Remedial education program paid to college 17,000
None were paid by medical insurance. The costs paid to medical Dr are deductible as medical expenses, the other? The tests were required to get into the Special Education program at the college, a need of the student, not a requirement of the college as a whole.
Did you pay anything else? I'm thinking the American Opportunity Credit can be used for the first $4,000 of expenses, resulting in a credit of $2,500, although it is phased out at high incomes.
Are any of these expenses reported on the 1098-T? Are these fees required to be paid to the educational institution as a condition of enrollment or attendance?
Also from publication 502 chapter 2 we have
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Special Education
You can include in medical expenses fees you pay on a doctor's recommendation for a child's tutoring by a teacher who is specially trained and qualified to work with children who have learning disabilities caused by mental or physical impairments, including nervous system disorders.
You can include in medical expenses the cost (tuition, meals, and lodging) of attending a school that furnishes special education to help a child to overcome learning disabilities. A doctor must recommend that the child attend the school. Overcoming the learning disabilities must be a principal reason for attending the school, and any ordinary education received must be incidental to the special education provided. Special education includes:
Teaching Braille to a visually impaired person, * Teaching lip reading to a hearing-impaired person, or * Giving remedial language training to correct a condition caused by a birth defect.
You cannot include in medical expenses the cost of sending a problem child to a school where the course of study and the disciplinary methods have a beneficial effect on the child's attitude if the availability of medical care in the school is not a principal reason for sending the student there.
END QUOTE
So assuming you can deduct some or all these expenses as medical expenses, be aware of the 7.5% limit -- which says that only the amount over 7.% of your adjusted gross income before most deductions is deductible, and that limit is 10% if you're in AMT.
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