November 9th, 2022 

TOPIC: Medical expenses 

 

This guide will educate you on how to deduct your medical expenses. This blog post will also list what medical expenses you can deduct and when you can deduct them.  

 

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Can I Deduct Medical Expenses? 

 

You can deduct expenses you paid for medical and dental care for yourself, your spouse, and your dependents. 

According to the IRS, your dependent can be a qualifying child or a qualifying relative. 

Expenses you deduct must not have been reimbursed by your insurance, your employer, or other entities. 

 

What Does The IRS Consider as a Qualifying Child? 

 

A qualifying child is a child who: 

 

  • Is your child, stepchild, foster child, sibling, half-sibling, step-sibling, niece, nephew, or grandchild.

 

  • This person must also be under the age of 19 and younger than you or your spouse (if filing separately). 

 

  • A full-time student who is under the age of 24. 

 

  • Any age but is permanently disabled. 

 

  • Lived with you for more than half of last year. 

 

  • Didn’t provide over half of his or her own support last year. 

 

  • Didn’t file a joint return other than claim a refund. 

 

What Does The IRS Consider as a Qualifying Relative? 

 

A qualifying relative is a person who is your: 

 

  • Biological child, stepchild, foster child, grandchild, sibling, half-sibling, niece, nephew, father, mother, uncle, etc. 

 

  • Child in-law, Parents in-law, Sibling in-law, etc. 

 

  • Any other person besides your spouse who has lived with you all year as a member of your household. 

 

  • A person who depended on you for over half of their financial support last year. 

 

What Expenses Can I Deduct? 

 

Here is a small list of medical expenses you can deduct: 

 

  • Payments for acupuncture treatments 

 

  • Inpatient treatment at a center for alcohol or drug addiction. 

 

  • Drugs that alleviate nicotine withdrawal require a prescription. 

 

  • Payments for insulin and for drugs that require a prescription for its use by an individual. 

 

  • Payments of fees to doctors, dentists, surgeons, chiropractors, psychologists, and nontraditional medical practitioners

 

  • Payments for false teeth, reading, or prescription eyeglasses, contact lenses, hearing aid, crutches, wheelchair, and service animals. 

 

  • Payments for insurance premiums you paid for policies that cover medical care or a qualified long-term care insurance policy. 

 

  • Payments to participate in a weight-loss program for a specific disease 

 

  • Payments for admission or transportation to a medical conference related to you, your spouse, or your dependent’s chronic illness. 

 

  • Those who are self-employed can deduct how much they paid for health insurance. 

 

You can deduct other expenses which are not listed here. 

You can use this tool if you don’t see your medical or dental expenses listed here and want to find out if it’s a deductible expense. 

On the other hand, you can also contact your local accountant if you have any questions.

 

When Can I Deduct My Medical Expenses? 

 

You can deduct only the amount of your medical and dental expenses that is more than 7.5% of your AGI. 

You can only deduct expenses that you paid for within the tax year you are filing for. 

So going, when filling out your tax return for 2022, you can only deduct medical expenses that you incurred during the year 2022. 

 

Note: AGI stands for adjusted gross income. 

 

How Can I Deduct My Expenses? 

 

Instead of choosing the standard deduction, you will need to pick itemized deduction to write off your medical expenses. 

 

You can do this by using Schedule A (Form 1040), Itemized deductions. 

You can adjust your income if you’re self-employed and want to deduct your health insurance expenses. 

 

Suppose you’re self-employed and didn’t claim 100% of your paid premium. 

In that case, you can deduct the remaining amount using the same form from above (Schedule A (Form 1040), Itemized deductions).

 

Want To Read More Educational Content Like This?

 

How would you like to receive money back for your health insurance payments? Well, with the Premium Tax Credit, that might be possible.

We created a blog post describing the premium tax credit and how you can use it to save money.

Click the link below to start reading now.

 

Click Here