Life What Medical Expenses are Tax Deductible? Read the Article Open Share Drawer Share this:Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window)Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window)Click to share on LinkedIn (Opens in new window)Click to share on Pinterest (Opens in new window)Click to print (Opens in new window) Written by Philip Taylor Published Mar 15, 2023 - [Updated Apr 5, 2023] 4 min read Reviewed by Katharina Reekmans, Enrolled Agent Even with good insurance and a low deductible, no one truly enjoys paying medical bills. One bright side to big bills is the opportunity to claim your medical expenses as a deduction on your tax return, as long as your bills are greater than 7.5% percent of your tax year’s *adjusted gross income and you can itemize your deductions. The medical expense deduction not only applies to your medical expenses, but it also applies to your spouse and dependent’s medical expenses. If your medical procedures cost you more than 7.5% of your income, follow the next five rules to maximize your tax refund. *Note, adjusted gross income (AGI) is your gross income like wages, salaries, or interest minus adjustments for eligible deductions like student loan interest or your IRA deduction. Your AGI can be found on line 11 of your 2022 Form 1040. Medical Isn’t Just ‘Medical’ The IRS allows tax deductions for dental care and vision, in addition to medical expenses. This means you can potentially deduct eye exams, contacts, glasses, dental visits, braces, false teeth, and root canals. What else is available for medical deductions? Preventative care and surgeries, psychiatric and psychological treatment, prescription medicine and medical devices – such as hearing aids and in-home medical equipment – all fall under the medical expenses deduction.. You’re even allowed to deduct the cost of your monthly insurance payments if they are not paid pre-tax through an employer-provided plan, as well as travel expenses to and from the doctor. The medical expense deduction includes medical expenses you pay for yourself, your spouse, and dependents. Get started now Non-Deductible Before you file, you need to know what isn’t tax deductible. As with all things tax-related, you can’t double dip on your tax benefits. You cannot claim deductions for any expenses that you were reimbursed for – either by your insurance or your employer. If you’re using a medical pre-payment plan, or some other medical reimbursement plan to help with expenses, you can’t claim those expenses as deductions. It’s also important to know that you can’t claim cosmetic surgery as a medical deduction unless that surgery was part of a life-saving procedure or some other serious health matter. Other non-deductible items include every-day or non-prescription health supplies like toothpaste, soap, vitamins, or over-the-counter pain relievers. You Can Deduct Medical Expenses if You Itemize Your Tax Deductions Like the headline says, to receive the benefits of the medical expense deduction, you have to qualify to itemize your deductions on your taxes, so your itemized deductions like home mortgage interest, state income taxes, property taxes, along with deductible medical expenses have to be more than the standard deduction. For the tax year 2022 (the taxes you file in 2023) the standard deduction is $12,950 single, $19,400 head of household, and $25,900 if married filing jointly. You can’t take the standard deduction and claim the medical expense deduction at the same time. If you are self-employed, you can deduct your health insurance premiums even if you don’t itemize your deductions. Pay Your Bills You know those medical bills that you want to deduct from your income? When did you pay them? As far as Uncle Sam is concerned, you can only deduct medical expenses if they were paid within the tax year in which you are filing a return. You can’t claim expenses from the previous year or future expenses. If you used a credit card to pay medical bills in the tax year, then that would count as being paid within the year and would be deductible. Track Those Miles Traveling back and forth to all those appointments counts. For 2022, the medical mileage rate is 18 cents per mile. Trips to pick up prescriptions, dental appointments, follow up appointments, emergency visits, and more are all included. Don’t miss out on this valuable deduction. If you’ve incurred medical expenses during the tax year, it might be worth maximizing your deductions and taking itemized deductions. Especially if your itemized deductions bump you over the standard deduction. Don’t worry about knowing these tax rules. Meet with a TurboTax Full Service expert who can prepare, sign and file your taxes, so you can be 100% confident your taxes are done right. Start TurboTax Live Full Service today, in English or Spanish, and get your taxes done and off your mind. Get started now Previous Post Can You Deduct 401K Savings From Your Taxes? Next Post Your Guide to Filing Taxes as the Head of Household Written by Philip Taylor More from Philip Taylor 33 responses to “What Medical Expenses are Tax Deductible?” This says that you can count the mileage for medical trips/appointments. Does that allow you to count to and from the appointment? Or just one way? Reply Hi Lance, You can count round trip mileage driven for your medical care. Hope this helps! Best, Katharina Reekmans Reply Can I deduct long-term care expenses for my wife? Reply What if you have a flex plan that reimburses you? Reply How do I handle medical expenses that I know will eventually be reimbursed to me by but not before a long time? I will definitely not see that money this year. Do I claim it as a deduction this year and then enter the reimbursment in the future tax year it happens? Or do I have to skip the deduction this year? Reply What if my Lerch medical expenses were paid with HSA dollars are the medical expenses still deductible If not what portion might be deductible Reply Only your out of pocket expenses..reimbursed or HSA contributions do not count. Reply Can you claim prescriptions? If you can do you need to send in any kind of forms to the IRS? Reply Yes—those paid out of pocket. Get a list of Rx charges for the year from your pharmacy for documentation. Reply Most pharmacies will print out a list of your what you paid for prescriptions during the year. You do not need to send a specific form into the IRS, but you will need to have documentation were you to be audited. Reply Any non Reimbursed Rx Copays are considered deductible. No records need to be send to the IRS. Your pharmacy has these records on file. Reply I am pregnant and due in 2019. I am paying out-of-pocket for all of my medical expenses. If I pre-pay the hospital in 2018 can I still claim that as 2018 medical expenses even though the delivery won’t happen until 2019? Reply I would think so. Keep all receipts. And don’t forget that you can claim a deduction for the mileage driven to every doctor appointment, dentist, eye doctor, and each trip to pick up your prescriptions. Reply My Medical deduction is 1,000.00 I owe 715.00 also my pap wasn’t covered so their charges is 315.00 Reply Are you allowed to deduct over the counter medications that your doctor says you should take like calcium supplements, nasal sprays etc? Reply What happens if all of the medical Bills that you are responsible for to pay out of pocket is not paid in full. Can you still claim those same ? Reply Does gross mean both husband and wife gross income for those filing jointly? Reply Yes. Joint is a if you are “one”. Your income is essentiallly the same Reply If I’ve been paying a health insurance premium for my 21 yr old son – that is totally separate from my work provided ins (just for myself) can I claim that as an expense to get reimbursed for? It’s $126 monthly. Reply What if you pay with a hsa or flex account. Reply I had a huge medical bill this year. But I made a payment arrangement to pay it off in 24 installments. How would I have to file it in that case? Reply Deduct only the actual payments made in 2018 Reply Is the cost of my service dog’s upkeep deductible Reply Can you claim travel and time off of work when volunteering… As well as travel expenses? Reply How about braces? Reply I pay part of my health care costs which is taken out of my pay every pay period. Can I claim that on my tax return? Reply Not the premiums taken out of your check or any HSA or FSA reimbursement you will be receiveing. However, any additional out of pocket costs paid are deductible. Reply Can the cost of a lawyer for a disability claim can be tax deductible? Reply Is medical expense deduction available for 2018 return ? Reply Yes, as long as the total medical expenses exceed 7.5% of your total income. Remember you cannot take the standard deduction (12,000 per individual or 24,000 total) if you itemize your deductions. Reply Yes it is Stanley, as long as you follow the above listed guidelines. Reply It depends on how much money you earned vs. how much you spent for medical expenses. Reply As I understand it, it is if you itemize I but the standard deduction is much higher so fewer people will itemize this year. Reply Leave a ReplyCancel reply Browse Related Articles Tax Deductions and Credits What are Tax Deductible Medical Expenses? Tax Deductions and Credits Tax Considerations for Cancer Patients Tax Tips Should I Itemize Tax Deductions on My Taxes? 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This says that you can count the mileage for medical trips/appointments. Does that allow you to count to and from the appointment? Or just one way? Reply
Hi Lance, You can count round trip mileage driven for your medical care. Hope this helps! Best, Katharina Reekmans Reply
How do I handle medical expenses that I know will eventually be reimbursed to me by but not before a long time? I will definitely not see that money this year. Do I claim it as a deduction this year and then enter the reimbursment in the future tax year it happens? Or do I have to skip the deduction this year? Reply
What if my Lerch medical expenses were paid with HSA dollars are the medical expenses still deductible If not what portion might be deductible Reply
Yes—those paid out of pocket. Get a list of Rx charges for the year from your pharmacy for documentation. Reply
Most pharmacies will print out a list of your what you paid for prescriptions during the year. You do not need to send a specific form into the IRS, but you will need to have documentation were you to be audited. Reply
Any non Reimbursed Rx Copays are considered deductible. No records need to be send to the IRS. Your pharmacy has these records on file. Reply
I am pregnant and due in 2019. I am paying out-of-pocket for all of my medical expenses. If I pre-pay the hospital in 2018 can I still claim that as 2018 medical expenses even though the delivery won’t happen until 2019? Reply
I would think so. Keep all receipts. And don’t forget that you can claim a deduction for the mileage driven to every doctor appointment, dentist, eye doctor, and each trip to pick up your prescriptions. Reply
My Medical deduction is 1,000.00 I owe 715.00 also my pap wasn’t covered so their charges is 315.00 Reply
Are you allowed to deduct over the counter medications that your doctor says you should take like calcium supplements, nasal sprays etc? Reply
What happens if all of the medical Bills that you are responsible for to pay out of pocket is not paid in full. Can you still claim those same ? Reply
If I’ve been paying a health insurance premium for my 21 yr old son – that is totally separate from my work provided ins (just for myself) can I claim that as an expense to get reimbursed for? It’s $126 monthly. Reply
I had a huge medical bill this year. But I made a payment arrangement to pay it off in 24 installments. How would I have to file it in that case? Reply
I pay part of my health care costs which is taken out of my pay every pay period. Can I claim that on my tax return? Reply
Not the premiums taken out of your check or any HSA or FSA reimbursement you will be receiveing. However, any additional out of pocket costs paid are deductible. Reply
Yes, as long as the total medical expenses exceed 7.5% of your total income. Remember you cannot take the standard deduction (12,000 per individual or 24,000 total) if you itemize your deductions. Reply
As I understand it, it is if you itemize I but the standard deduction is much higher so fewer people will itemize this year. Reply
