BOSTON — The IRS allowed a woman who underwent sex reassignment surgery to deduct it from her taxes Tuesday, according to the U.S. Tax Court.
Rhiannon O’Donnabhain, who had sex reassignment surgery at 57, sued the IRS after it failed to recognize $5,000 in deductions from the cost of the surgery and hormone treatment.
In ruling that sex reassignment surgery is a non-cosmetic procedure, the IRS has set a precedent in recognizing gender identity disorder as a medical problem, according to Hayley Gorenberg, Lambda Legal‘s deputy legal director.
“… it ratifies what the medical community has said clearly for years,” she said, “which is for people with gender identity disorder, this type of surgery is frequently a medical necessity for their lives and for their health and for their well-being.”
According to the Gay and Lesbian Medical Association, between 1,600 and 2,000 people a year undergo the surgery.
For continued reading, see the original Associated Press article at Yahoo! News.
