Question

I am itemizing my tax return. Do I need to be concerned about medical deduction limits?

Answer

When itemizing a tax return, medical deduction limits is generally not an issue for most people. You can deduct the medical expenses that are more than a percentage of your adjusted gross income (AGI). Depending on your age and the tax year, this percentage is either:

  • 7.5% of your AGI
  • 10% of your AGI

You report medical expenses on Schedule A, and you must itemize to deduct them.

You can deduct medical expenses for disease:

  • Diagnosis
  • Cure
  • Easing
  • Treating
  • Prevention

If one of those applies, you can also include the associated costs for:

  • Equipment
  • Supplies
  • Diagnostic services

The expenses must be primarily to improve or prevent a physical or mental deficiency or illness.

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