Topic
502 - Medical and Dental Expenses
If you itemize your deductions for a taxable year on Form
1040, Schedule A (PDF), Itemized Deductions, you may be able to deduct expenses you paid
that year for medical and dental care for yourself, your spouse, and your dependents. You may deduct only the amount of your total medical expenses that exceed 10% of your adjusted gross income or 7.5% if you or your spouse is
65 or older. The 7.5% limitation is effective only from
January 1, 2013 to December 31, 2016 for individuals age 65 and older and their
spouses. You figure the amount you're allowed to deduct on Form 1040, Schedule A.
Medical care expenses include payments for the diagnosis, cure, mitigation, treatment, or
prevention of disease, or payments for treatments affecting any structure or
function of the body.
Deductible medical expenses may include but aren't limited to
the following:
l Payments of fees to doctors, dentists, surgeons, chiropractors,
psychiatrists, psychologists, and nontraditional
medical practitioners
l Payments for in-patient hospital care or
residential nursing home care, if the availability of medical care is the
principal reason for being in the nursing home, including the cost of meals and
lodging charged by the hospital or nursing home. If the availability of medical
care isn't the principal reason for residence in the nursing home, the
deduction is limited to that part of the cost that's for medical care.
l Payments for acupuncture treatments or inpatient
treatment at a center for alcohol or drug addiction, for participation in a
smoking-cessation program and for drugs to alleviate nicotine withdrawal that
require a prescription
l Payments to participate in a weight-loss program
for a specific disease or diseases diagnosed by a physician, including obesity,
but not ordinarily payments for diet food items or the payment of health club
dues
l Payments for insulin and payments for drugs that
require a prescription
l Payments made for admission and transportation to
a medical conference relating to a chronic disease that you, your spouse, or
your dependents have (if the costs are primarily for and essential to necessary
medical care). However, you may not deduct the costs for meals and lodging
while attending the medical conference
l Payments for false teeth, reading or prescription
eyeglasses or contact lenses, hearing aids, crutches, wheelchairs, and for a
guide dog or other service animal to assist a visually impaired or hearing
disabled person, or a person with other physical disabilities
l Payments for transportation primarily for and
essential to medical care that qualify as medical expenses, such as payments of
the actual fare for a taxi, bus, train, ambulance, or for transportation by
personal car, the amount of your actual out-of-pocket expenses such as for gas
and oil, or the amount of the standard mileage rate for medical expenses, plus
the cost of tolls and parking
l Payments for insurance premiums you paid for
policies that cover medical care or for a qualified long-term care insurance
policy covering qualified long-term care services. However, if you're an
employee, don't include in medical expenses the portion of your premiums
treated as paid by your employer under its sponsored group accident, health
policy, or qualified long-term care insurance policy. Also, don't include the
premiums that you paid under your employer-sponsored policy under a premium
conversion policy (pre-tax), paid by an employer-sponsored health insurance
plan (cafeteria plan) or any other medical and dental expenses unless the
premiums are included in box 1 of your Form W-2 (PDF), Wage and Tax Statement.
For example, if you're a federal employee participating in the premium
conversion program of the Federal Employee Health Benefits (FEHB) program, you
may not include the premiums paid for the policy as a medical expense
If you're self-employed and have a net profit for the year,
you may be eligible for the self-employed health insurance
deduction. This is an adjustment to income, rather than an itemized deduction,
for premiums you paid
on a health insurance policy covering medical care, including a qualified long-term
care insurance policy covering medical care, for yourself, your spouse,
and dependents. In addition,
you may be eligible for this
deduction for your child
who is under the age of 27 at the end of 2016 even if the child wasn't your
dependent. See Chapter 6 of Publication 535 for eligibility information.
If you don't claim 100% of your paid premiums, you can include the remainder with your other medical
expenses as an itemized
deduction on Form 1040, Schedule A (PDF).
You may not deduct funeral or burial expenses,
over-the-counter medicines (i.e., medicines or drugs that aren't required to be
prescribed), toothpaste, toiletries, cosmetics, a trip or program for the general improvement of your
health, or most cosmetic
surgery. You may not deduct amounts
paid for nicotine gum and nicotine patches that don't require a prescription.
You can only include the medical expenses
you paid during the year
and you can only use the expenses once on the return. You must reduce your total deductible medical
expenses for the year by any reimbursement
of deductible medical expenses and expenses used when figuring other credits or
deductions. This is true whether you receive the reimbursement directly or it's
paid on your behalf to the doctor, hospital, or other medical provider.
To determine whether an expense is
deductible, see Can I Deduct My Medical and Dental Expenses? For
additional information on medical expenses, including who qualifies as your dependent for purposes of
this deduction, how to figure, and how to report the deduction on your return,
see Publication 502, Medical and Dental Expenses.
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Page Last Reviewed or Updated: April 14, 2017
