No Medical Deduction for IVF Expenses; I.R.C. § 213 Doesn’t Apply for All Surrogacy Situations

Under I.R.C. § 213, a deduction is available for medical services provided to a taxpayer, his/her spouse, and dependents.  But this doesn’t mean that all  IVF procedures and other pregnancy-related costs are covered simply because the taxpayer’s dependent is ultimately conceived by virtue of the procedures…

Joseph Morrissey and his partner decided to try to have children through in vitro fertilization.  Between 2010 and 2014, Morrissey paid for seven IVF procedures, three egg donors, three gestational surrogates and two fertility specialists, at a cost of approximately $100,000.  Mr. Morrissey sought to deduct under I.R.C. § 213 the costs associated with identification, retention, compensation and care of the egg donor and gestational surrogate but was denied the deduction by the IRS because I.R.C. § 213 deduction “must be for Medical Services provided to the taxpayer, his spouse, or his dependent.”

Morrissey asserted that all of the IVF-related expenses that he incurred—including the costs attributable to the identification, retention, compensation, and care of the women who served as the egg donor and surrogate—were made for the purpose of affecting his body’s reproductive function.  The court held that these costs attributable to the identification, retention, compensation and care of the egg donor and surrogate weren’t incurred ‘for the purpose of affecting any …function of [Mr. Morrissey’s] body,” and, for that reason, cannot be deducted as “medical care” expenses under I.R.C. § 213.  Morrissey v. United States, No. 17-10685, 2017 BL 337928 (11th Cir. Sept. 25, 2017).

Post by: Jillian Mastroianni