February 17, 2010 5:33 PM GMT
what an excellent story!! thanks so much for posting this!
February 17, 2010 6:09 PM GMT
So some of you American girls that maintain that Being a trannny is'nt an illness, might change your minds now, lol (actually I meant Gender dysphoric)
Unfortunaqtely, the tax laws in the UK are somewhat different, in that most peoples taxes are deducted by their employers directly from their salaries, weekly, monthlyand paid to the revenue services along with NHI contributions, much harder to get tax back as opposed to getting it knocked of what you owe. The majority of British tax payers do not even have to fill in tax returns.
Cristine
February 17, 2010 8:37 PM GMT
Hi girls, I thought it was kind of interesting, too, and something of a step forward, perhaps not for general societal acceptance, but at least one stumbling block that might be a factor for those considering GRS out of the way. Of course, this decision applies only to girls who are US taxpayers.
Our tax system actually works very much like yours, Christine, at least what I understand from what you wrote. Most wage earners have taxes deducted by their employer from each paycheck, then after the calendar year is over everyone must file a tax return by a certain date whether they have money coming back, break even, or owe money. At that time you can claim any deductions for things like medical costs and so on that you may have incurred. Of course, generally speaking, the revenue service takes a hard look at expensive deductions that are out of the ordinary. With GRS being declared an actual "disease" (though I hate that terminology) medical costs for the surgery and apparently also for FFS and BAS can now be claimed which is a good thing.
Hugs...Joni Mari
February 17, 2010 9:41 PM GMT
Breast augmentation was specifically denied, the subject of Facial Feminization Surgery did not come up and therefore was not rule on. Being breast augmentation was ruled cosmetic beyond hormone induced, FFS could be a tough one to have the IRS approve because that would likely be considered cosmetic as well. There is another thread on this topic in the USA forum
U.S. Tax court rules on GRS
Hugs,
Marsha
February 17, 2010 9:52 PM GMT
Must have skipped over that, Marsha. Thanks for the clarification.
Hugs...Joni Mari
February 17, 2010 10:16 PM GMT
For anyone interested, here is the courts decision. It is pretty complicated but gives an extremely thorough opinion about GID. Definitely worth reading for those it impacts.
Hugs,
Marsha
