"Swingman" wrote

As I've said before, that was instigated by a family friend without my
knowledge or input, but from what I understand I don't think it is
possible for donations to an individual for medical purposes to be tax
deductible for the donor without the recipient being some kind of
registered 501(c) charitable organization.

I'm fairly certain that any donation is treated as a "gift" to the
recipient and as a result would not be taxable as income to the recipient
for Federal purposes.

As explained to me by my accountant, I am certainly not one, this is how it
works.

You have a limit to how much you can "gift" anybody per year and per
lifetime. Anything above that means you have to pay tax. The recipient
rarely pays this tax. But you can make a "direct contribution" toward
tuition and medical expenses. These do not count against the above
mentioned limits. But the funds must be paid DIRECTLY to the educational
institution or medical facility/provider. There is no tax write off
involved in any of these scenarios. You would need to make a donation to a
federally (IRS) recognized charity for that to happen.

Again, I am not an accountant nor do I play one on television.