Question

Can I claim deductions for medical expenses received in a foreign country? If so, how can I calculate the currency exchange accurately?

Forum|Forum|7 years ago
June 1, 2019
2 replies
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Employee

Yes, you can deduct the cost of medical procedures done in another country as long as it is a legal operation and not “unnecessary cosmetic surgery”. This is the same requirement for procedures done in the US. IRS Publication 502 will give you more information and an extensive list of covered medical expenses.

The Internal Revenue Service has no official exchange rate. The IRS will normally accept any posted exchange rate that is used consistently. You can translate the foreign currency to U.S. dollars using the yearly average currency exchange rate for the tax year. In general, use the exchange rate prevailing (i.e., the spot rate) when you receive, pay or accrue the item. This website may be helpful: https://finance.yahoo.com/currency-converter/

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L

lorena11

<a rel="nofollow" target="_blank" href="https://www.irs.gov/individuals/international-taxpayers/yearly-average-currency-exchange-rates">https://www.irs.gov/individuals/international-taxpayers/yearly-average-currency-exchange-rates</a>

K

kaipo

What form do I need to fill out for this and do I need to have a receipt for this?

I

Irene2805

Medical expenses are reported on Schedule A, and are deductible only if you are itemizing your deductions. It's always good to keep the receipts with your copy of the tax return, but you don't have to submit them to the IRS.

Please keep in mind the following about deducting your medical expenses:

You don't get the benefit if you are taking the standard deduction.
If you itemize deductions, you will only be able to take total medical expenses that are greater than 7.5% of your adjusted gross income.

To enter your medical expenses in TurboTax, please follow these steps:

Click on Federal Taxes > Deductions & Credits [In TT Self-Employed: Personal > Deductions & Credits > I'll choose what I work on].
In the Medical section, click on the Start/Revisit box next to Medical Expenses.
TurboTax will then ask you if your total medical expenses exceed a certain number. [That's the 7.5% AGI mentioned above.]
If you think your total medical expenses will exceed that number, continue through the interview, entering the requested information on your medical expenses.