WBRZ - Baton Rouge

A woman who battled the IRS over a tax deduction for a sex-change operation won when the U.S. Tax Court sided with her and against the tax man. Rhiannon O'Donnabhain sued the IRS three-years ago when the agency rejected a $5,000 deduction for about $25-thousand in medical expenses associated with the sex-change operation. She was born a man. The IRS said the operation was cosmetic surgery. The tax court ruled otherwise saying O'Donnabhain should be allowed to deduct the costs of treating her gender-related disorder, including hormone therapy and the sex-reassignment surgery.