Question

My son has participated in a Wilderness Therapy program and attended a Therapeutic Boarding School in 2016. Where should these deductions be entered?

Forum|Forum|7 years ago
June 6, 2019
1 reply
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I have researched the criteria for deducting expenses related to Wilderness Therapy and Therapeutic Boarding School costs, but can't figure out the appropriate place to enter them in TurboTax.

TurboTax Premier Windows

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MichaelMc

Employee

If these costs are tax-deductible, they would be treated as itemized medical expenses.

In making your determination of whether the expenses are deductible, take into account what you have learned from your research, and compare the facts and circumstances to this IRS guidance, which is taken from IRS Pub. 502 Medical and Dental Expenses:

"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 disor- ders.

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. For expenses to be deductible, 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 disabled person, or

Giving remedial language training to correct a condition caused by a birth defect.

You can't include in medical expenses the cost of sending a child with behavioral problems 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 isn't a principal reason for sending the student there." [Emphasis added.]

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davidsock77Author

Thanks for the quick reply. My question may not have been clear. TurboTax breaks down the entry of deductible medical expenses into several categories (Facility Fees, Long Term Care Expenses, Professional Fees, etc.) Where would deductions for Wilderness Therapy or a Therapeutic Boarding School that I believe to be deductible be entered?