What Medical Expenses Can I Deduct?

As the new year is approaching, my husband and I are getting our paperwork organized. It’s been an eventful year with the birth of our daughter and I’m amazed at how much our little one is costing. One positive spin is that medical expenses can be deducted on our taxes.

Whose Medical Expenses Can You Deduct?

Generally speaking you can deduct your medical expenses, your spouse’s expenses, or your dependent’s (such as a qualifying child or relative) if you itemize your tax deductions.

What Medical Expenses Can I Deduct?

Please keep in mind that you can only claim the amount of your medical expenses that exceeds 7.5% of your adjusted gross income. Let’s say your AGI is $35,000. If your medical expenses for the year were $2,700 then you can deduct your expenses that were greater than 7.5% of your adjusted gross income. However, if your medical and dental expenses were only $1,750 then you could not claim any, as they didn’t meet the requirement.

The IRS has a huge list of medical expenses that you can deduct. Some common ones I think many people use include:

• Ambulance/Transportation
• Annual Physical Exam
• Breastpump
• Chiropractor
• Dental Treatment
• Insurance Premiums
• Medicine
• Psychologist

For the entire list and detailed explanations, please check out our Medical Expense Checklist. I think most people will be able to find qualifying medical expenses they’ve had this past year. Please note that you can only deduct expenses that you’ve paid to treat, alleviate, or prevent a physical or mental illness.

My Family’s Medical Expenses This Year

After reviewing the IRS list of eligible expenses, I saw that my family has some medical expenses we can deduct. They include:

• Breastpump: We just had our baby girl this year and I’m breastfeeding so the pump has become handy.
• Contact Lens/Eyeglasses: I have both contacts and eyeglasses for my nearsightedness. Glad to see I can get a tax deduction for them.
• Some Medical Insurance Premiums:  Only the ones that are not a pre-tax deduction from my income.
  
• Laboratory Expenses: The blood-work I had done while I was pregnant is an eligible medical expense.
• Medicines: The medicine my doctors prescribed are included.
• Physical Examinations: I get my checkups annually to make sure everything is in check.

I’m really happy to see that we have medical expenses that are on the tax deductible list. Maybe we’ll get a good size tax refund; we’ll see.

What medical expenses are you going to deduct when you file your taxes? What has been the biggest expense? What expense surprised you?