Using Insurance Law and Policy to Interpret the Tax Code’s Loss and Medical Expense Provisions

Abstract:     
Prior scholarship recognized that I.R.C. § 165 (allowing a deduction for casualty losses) and I.R.C. § 165 (authorizing a deduction for medical expenses) are a free partial insurance scheme, providing tax benefits that partially offset the losses or medical expenses. Courts have long wrestled with determining eligibility for these deductions. This Note proposes that courts should look to the well-developed body of insurance case law to interpret eligibility for these deductions. It further proposed that the government, which effectively acts as an insurer via these deductions, could raise additional revenue using subrogation, which traditional insurers have long used to partially recoup payouts.

Number of Pages in PDF File: 36

Keywords: tax, taxation, insurance, deductions, casualty loss, medical expense

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