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Taxpayers Allowed Deductions for Special Education Program
Suppose you send a child to a school that accommodates disabled students. Can you deduct any part of the cost as a medical expense deduction? It depends. The tuition may be deductible if the principal reason for attending the school is to overcome the disability. Previously, the IRS has approved deductions for attending a "special school," but it generally has disallowed deductions for attending a regular school with a special education program.
Until now. In a new private ruling, the IRS has established new guidelines for medical deductions relating to special education programs.
The facts: The taxpayers have two children diagnosed with various disabilities, including dyslexia, that impair their learning abilities. The parents enrolled the children in a school that provides each disabled child with a special education program. The program is designed to enable the children to progress to a regular school.
The IRS said that special education includes providing remedial language training to correct a condition caused by a birth defect or to overcome other disabilities. Dyslexia is such a disability. Therefore, the tuition at the school should be treated as a medical expense for the years in which the children are disabled.
Of course, a private letter ruling technically cannot be used as a precedent for other taxpayers. However, it is indicative of the way in which the IRS may rule under similar facts.