Health insurance premiums: Can they be deducted as medical expenses?

The rules for health insurance premiums can be tricky. Many people wonder if they can deduct health insurance premiums, which is the cost of insurance paid from your paycheck, or just out-of-pocket medical costs. Medical insurance premiums are deducted from your pre-tax pay.

If you’re wondering if health insurance premiums can be deducted, the answer is no. You are already receiving the tax benefit with your pre-taxed earnings, and you can only claim qualified medical expenses as a post-tax deduction if they were paid for with after-tax earnings.

Can you deduct medical expenses in all cases?

After-tax medical expenses can be deducted if you itemize your tax return, but not if you take the standard deduction. To itemize your medical expenses, you should complete Form 1040, Schedule A: Itemized Deductions.

According to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), a medical expense can include payment for the diagnosis, cure, mitigation, treatment, or prevention of disease, or payments for treatment affecting any structure or function of the body. Learn more about the details of deducting medical expenses on taxes. If you’re itemizing deductions, the IRS generally allows you a medical expenses deduction if you have unreimbursed expenses that are more than 10% of your Adjusted Gross Income,

Get help with pre- and post-tax health insurance deductions

Understanding if health insurance is a pre-tax deduction (or post-tax deduction) can be tricky. If you still have questions about what can be deducted from your taxes, our tax pros can help. They are committed to helping you better understand your taxes — and how to maximize your tax savings.

For more information on qualified medical expenses, visit Topic 502: Medical and Dental Expenses at https://www.irs.gov/taxtopics/tc502.html.