Unhealthy in Ohio

Crunching tax return numbers to getthe average deductions claimed can yieldsome interesting results. In the 2001 taxyear, for example, the affluent taxpayersof Ohio (ie, taxpayers with an adjustedgross income [AGI] of more than$100,000) wrote off more in medical expensesthan those in the 6 states with thelargest number of 1040 filers. Ohioans inthe $100,000 to $150,000 AGI rangeclaimed an average of $12,904 in medicalcosts, while those with an AGI in the$150,000 to $200,000 wrote off an averageof $21,150 in medical expenses. Pennsylvaniataxpayers in those AGI rangesranked second in medical cost deductions.Deductions for interest payments were farhigher among California taxpayers, probablybecause of high housing costs, whilewell-to-do Texas taxpayers topped the listin charitable contribution write-offs.