Fertility, Taxes and Unforeseen Circumstances

Fertility and taxes are seemingly unrelated topics with surprising intersections.  Consider this example. Taxpayers can exclude up to $250,000 (if single) or $500,000 (if married and filing jointly) of gain on the sale of a principal residence, if certain requirements are met.  A homeowner who moves too early or too often gets no benefit … unless the move is motivated by “a change in place of employment, health, or to the extent provided in regulations, unforeseen circumstances.”  One unforeseen circumstance is the birth of twins, according to the Treasury Regulations.  

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (here), approximately 4.6% of total U.S. births are the result of ovulation stimulation medication alone (without in vitro fertilization). 22.8% of all multiple births in the U.S. in 2005 resulted from ovulation stimulation medication (used alone, without IVF).  Although multiple births are “unforeseen” according to the IRS, the CDC stats suggest otherwise.  Even so, I’m not sure I’d want the IRS to start doing a facts-and-circumstances inquiry every time the parents of multiples try to avail themselves of the tax benefit under IRC Section 121. 

 

Comments

[James Grimmelmann]

I think the relevant statistic is not the percentage of multiple births that result from ovulation stimulation, but rather the percentage of ovulation stimulation treatments that result in multiple births. According to the CDC site, there were 32,000 multiple births and 159,000 singleton infants in 2005 conceived using ovulation stimulation, so the percentage of multiple births within that population is 17%.

[Bridget Crawford]

Agreed. Well said. Note to self: no more blogging during Glee.

[James Grimmelmann]

Would that be "Gleeging?"

[Joe]

I'm the recent father of twins (7.5 months). You'd be shocked how many comments you get. The more discreet ones: "Were you expecting twins?" I asked my wife why people would ask such a stupid question -- no, not until the ultrasound showed two blobs, and then yes after that. She explained that it was just a polite way of asking if she had fertility treatments or IVF. Others would just flat-out ask if we had fertility treatments. (My favorite response of my much-more-ballsy-than-I wife: "No. But since we're talking about how our children were conceived, what position did you and your husband f*ck in when he got you pregnant?").