Can I Write off Medical Expenses on My Taxes?

Updated on September 26, 2006
E.R. asks from Plano, TX
8 answers

Does anyone know if I incur a large amount of out of pocket expenses for medical bills - if I can write them off at the end of the year on my taxes. Thanks!

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S.

answers from Dallas on

Congrats to you !!!
The only time we have been able to claim medical expenses was the year my daughter was born. With the hospital bills,dr visits,medicines, and deductables we were able to use all of it together as a tax reduction.

Best thing is keep all receipts and you might get some $$ back.

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K.W.

answers from Dallas on

YES!!! You can write them off if the exceed 7.5% of your adjusted gross income. We have been doing this going on our 3rd year now. After our son was born in 2004, was a preemie, and spent 2 weeks in the NICU, we had bills coming out the "whazoo"!!! My mother-in-law told us about writing them off on our taxes. We do our taxes ourselves with Turbo Tax Delux. It is very easy.

You can write off the following:
Medical, Dental, Vision Insurance Premiums paid out
Prescriptions
Dr. Visit Co-Pays
ER Visit Co-Pays
Deductibles
Any other out of pocket expenses
Eye Glasses
Mileage to and from Dr. Offices and Hosptials

I keep a spread sheet with all of the above categories in the top rows and then all our family listed in columns. I have a little notebook in my car that I write mileage down every time I go to the Dr. for myself, kids, and my husbands trips back and forth to the hospital when we had our kids. I update it monthly so it is complete come tax time. The totals are already there and all we have to do is plug them in to Turbo Tax when we get to that section. A little hint that my 500 miles I put on my car last year gave us an extra $200 back when I added up all my mileage for Doctors.

Good Luck!

1 mom found this helpful
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B.F.

answers from Dallas on

You can write off medical expenses if it equals a certain percentage of your income. The qualified med. expenses need to be greater than 7.5% of your adjusted gross income. I found this information with my last year's Turbo Tax information. I have known very few people, if any, that have qualified for this.

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Z.V.

answers from Dallas on

YES, YOU CAN WRITE OFF MEDICAL EXPENSES. YOU CAN EVEN INCLUDE YOUR MILEAGE FROM HOME TO THE DR. VISITS & ETC... I USE H&R BLOCK FOR MY TAXES. THEY ALWAYS GIVE ME HELPFUL INFO. ALWAYS SAVE YOUR MEDICAL RECEIPTS.(DR.VISITS,MONTHLY INS. PYMT,Rx's, etc...)I would ask a tax profressional to get more info.

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C.M.

answers from Kansas City on

You can write off medical expenses to the extent that they exceed 7.5% of your Adjusted Gross Income. Get a copy of the Schedule A Instructions for Form 1040, which can be found at www.irs.gov, and it will list the types of expenses that can be deducted. Almost every medical expense can qualify; co-pays, prescription medications, etc. Things like non-prescription medicines do not qualify, though. Don't be intimidated by the Schedule A Instructions - if you can read, you can understand it.

C.

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C.M.

answers from Dallas on

Make sure you keep all of your documentation and tax records. We qualified for a write off in 2004 because of $30,000 plus worth of medical expenses my husband had. We just recently got a letter that our tax return is being "reviewed" (not audited ... yet) so we had to send every piece of documentation we had. Luckily, we saved everything. Just wanted to let you know that it sometimes sends up red flags and you have to prove everything.

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K.

answers from Dallas on

The short answer is yes. Out of pocket medical expenses are deductible, but they must exceed a certain amount. I am a CPA, but not a practicing tax accountant so I am a little rusty. But I believe that medical expenses that exceed 7.5% of your adjusted gross income are tax deductible. This is included in your itemized deductions. Hope that helps.

Smallavatar-fefd015f3e6a23a79637b7ec8e9ddaa6

D.W.

answers from Dallas on

I am not a tax person, I do know we always claim our medical expenses- including glasses. \

D.

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