Teens, Botox and medical tax deductions

It's Friday the 13th, so it seems a perfect time to ask, What are you afraid of?

Apparently, many teenagers are terrified of getting older. Good Morning America reported on today's show that the latest trend among teen girls is getting Botox injections.

The American Society of Plastic Surgeons says that last year, botulinum toxin, more commonly known as Botox or Dysport, was injected into Americans ages 13 to 19 nearly 12,000 times, including some teenagers who got multiple doses. That's a 2 percent increase from 2008, the society said.

Wow, maybe Congress was onto something when it tried to add a surtax to cosmetic procedures. Lucky for those girls, at least from a tax perspective, the Bo-Tax failed, replaced instead by the 10 percent tax on UV tanning booth services.

Deductible medical treatments: While cosmetic surgery escaped an added tax (for now), the procedures usually won't do you any good when it comes to tax deductions.

If you have Botox treatments or get a nose job simply for vanity's sake, you have to foot the full bill.

If, however, your doctor says you need the injection to halt an eye twitch that is posing medical problems or your rhinoplasty is medically necessary, again per your physician's order, to alleviate serious respiratory issues, then you can include those costs as deductible medical expenses.

Remember, though, you must itemize to deduct medical expenses.

And you'll have to have total medical (and dental) costs of more than 7.5 percent of your adjusted gross income before you they will do you any good on your Schedule A. 

If you're thinking of getting a medical procedure, check out check out these previous posts on how they might save you some tax dollars.

• Bunching medical expenses   
  
• Maximize your medical deductions
• Flexing your medical account muscle   
  

And if you're a teenager reading this, thanks for helping skew the ol' blog's demographics a bit younger.

But more importantly, stop before you take any drastic remake action on your physical self.

Trust me, while your body image issues might not ever completely go away, by waiting until you have a bit more life experience you'll find you can put them in a more proper perspective.

Related posts:

• Snooki, McCain and IRS talk tanning tax
• Bye-bye Bo-Tax. Hello, Tan Tax
• Bo-Tax back in play?
• Health care reform taxes, redux
• Tax provisions in the health care bill
• One toke over the IRS-approved medical tax deduction line
• Breaks, of my wrist and for medical costs
• 13 financial superstitions
• 13 overlooked tax breaks
• Money superstitions for Friday the 13th
  
• Overcoming tax terrors

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