Are Medical Expenses Tax Deductible?
Are Medical Expenses Tax Deductible? What You Can—and Cannot—Claim
Doctor visits, dental work, prescriptions, insurance premiums, medical travel, and other healthcare costs can add up quickly. Some of those expenses may reduce your federal income taxes—but only when the expenses qualify and your total deductible medical costs cross an important IRS threshold.
Yes, qualifying medical and dental expenses can be tax deductible—but simply having medical bills does not automatically create a tax deduction.
For most individual taxpayers, medical expenses are an itemized deduction. You generally receive a federal deduction only for the portion of qualifying, unreimbursed medical and dental expenses that exceeds 7.5% of your adjusted gross income (AGI).
That threshold makes medical deductions particularly important for taxpayers who experience a year with major surgery, extensive dental work, long-term care, fertility treatment, significant insurance costs, chronic illness, or other unusually high healthcare expenses.
The 7.5% Rule: How the Medical Expense Deduction Works
The first thing to understand is that your entire medical bill is generally not deductible.
Medical and dental expenses are reported as itemized deductions on Schedule A of Form 1040. Only the amount of qualifying expenses that exceeds 7.5% of your adjusted gross income is potentially deductible.
The threshold is based on AGI—not taxable income.
Your adjusted gross income is used to calculate the medical expense threshold before your standard or itemized deductions are applied.
Example: $80,000 of Adjusted Gross Income
Assume a taxpayer has an AGI of $80,000. Seven-and-a-half percent of $80,000 is $6,000.
If that taxpayer has $10,000 of otherwise qualifying, unreimbursed medical expenses, the potentially deductible amount would be:
| Calculation | Amount |
|---|---|
| Total qualifying medical expenses | $10,000 |
| 7.5% of $80,000 AGI | $6,000 |
| Potential medical itemized deduction | $4,000 |
Even then, the taxpayer must generally determine whether itemizing deductions provides a better result than claiming the standard deduction.
Do You Have to Itemize to Deduct Medical Expenses?
For the traditional individual medical expense deduction, yes. The deduction is generally claimed on Schedule A as part of your itemized deductions.
This means there are really two hurdles:
Your expenses must exceed the 7.5% AGI threshold.
Only medical expenses above the threshold become part of the potential Schedule A deduction.
Itemizing must make sense on your return.
Your allowable medical deduction combines with other itemized deductions such as qualifying mortgage interest, charitable contributions, and deductible state and local taxes.
This is why a household can have thousands of dollars in medical expenses and still receive no additional federal tax benefit from them.
What Medical Expenses Are Tax Deductible?
The tax law generally defines medical expenses as payments for the diagnosis, cure, mitigation, treatment, or prevention of disease, as well as treatments affecting a structure or function of the body.
That definition is broader than many taxpayers realize. Qualifying expenses can potentially include far more than hospital bills.
Doctors & Treatment
Payments to physicians, surgeons, specialists, chiropractors, psychologists, psychiatrists, and other qualifying medical practitioners can potentially be included.
Dental Expenses
Dental exams, cleanings, fillings, extractions, dentures, and other qualifying dental treatment may count toward the medical expense deduction.
Medication
Prescription medicines and insulin generally qualify when the applicable requirements are satisfied.
Other potentially qualifying expenses may include:
- Hospital and surgical expenses
- Laboratory fees and diagnostic testing
- Prescription eyeglasses and contact lenses
- Hearing aids and related batteries
- Medical equipment and certain medical supplies
- Ambulance services
- Physical therapy
- Certain mental health treatment
- Certain substance-use treatment programs
- Qualifying long-term care expenses
- Certain health and long-term care insurance premiums
- Transportation primarily for and essential to qualifying medical care
- Certain costs associated with service animals used for medical purposes
IRS Publication 502 contains a much more extensive discussion of expenses that may or may not qualify.
Are Health Insurance Premiums Tax Deductible?
Certain health insurance premiums can potentially be included with medical expenses on Schedule A—but one of the most important rules is that you generally cannot deduct an expense that was already paid with tax-free or pre-tax dollars.
Potentially includable premiums can include amounts you personally paid for qualifying medical and dental insurance and, subject to limits and other rules, certain qualifying long-term care insurance.
Watch for pre-tax employer health insurance.
If your health insurance premiums were paid through a pre-tax salary reduction arrangement and were already excluded from your taxable wages, you generally cannot claim those same premiums again as an itemized medical deduction.
Similarly, insurance reimbursements generally reduce the amount of medical expenses you can claim. The deduction is intended primarily for qualifying costs that you actually bear economically.
Self-Employed? Your Health Insurance May Work Differently
Business owners and self-employed taxpayers should not automatically assume that their health insurance deduction works the same way as the Schedule A medical expense deduction.
Eligible self-employed individuals may be able to claim the self-employed health insurance deduction. When available, this deduction is generally calculated separately rather than simply being treated as an ordinary Schedule A medical expense.
Health Insurance Deserves Special Attention When You Own a Business
Sole proprietors, partners, LLC members, and greater-than-2% S corporation shareholders can face different rules for health insurance. How premiums are paid and reported can affect whether the deduction is handled correctly.
Explore Tax Planning ServicesAny premium amount deducted under the self-employed health insurance rules generally cannot also be claimed again as a Schedule A medical deduction.
Whose Medical Expenses Can You Deduct?
The deduction is not necessarily limited to medical bills in your own name.
Depending on the circumstances, you can generally include qualifying medical expenses you paid for:
- Yourself
- Your spouse
- Your qualifying dependents
- Certain individuals who could qualify as dependents except for specific tax-law exceptions
Paying a parent's medical expenses can sometimes qualify.
The dependency rules used for medical expenses include special provisions. A taxpayer who provides substantial support for a parent or another qualifying relative may be able to include certain medical expenses even when that person is not actually claimed as a dependent, depending on why the dependency test was not met.
The rules can become considerably more complicated when parents, divorced or separated parents, multiple support agreements, or dependents are involved, so larger amounts should be reviewed carefully.
Can You Deduct Mileage and Travel for Medical Care?
Transportation costs primarily for and essential to qualifying medical care can potentially count as medical expenses.
Depending on the circumstances, this can include qualifying expenses associated with driving to doctors, hospitals, treatment centers, pharmacies, and other necessary medical appointments.
The 2026 Medical Mileage Rate
The medical mileage rate changed during 2026.
| 2026 Period | Medical Mileage Rate |
|---|---|
| January 1 – June 30, 2026 | 20.5¢ per mile |
| July 1 – December 31, 2026 | 23.5¢ per mile |
Because the rate changed midyear, taxpayers claiming 2026 medical mileage should maintain records showing when the miles were driven, not simply the total number of annual medical miles.
Parking fees and tolls related to qualifying medical transportation may also potentially be included under the applicable rules.
What Medical and Health Expenses Are Not Deductible?
Some expenses may improve your health or make you feel better but still fail to meet the tax-law definition of deductible medical care.
Common examples of costs that generally do not qualify include:
- General health or wellness expenses without a qualifying medical purpose
- Ordinary toiletries
- Toothpaste
- Most cosmetics and cosmetic products
- Cosmetic procedures performed only to improve appearance rather than to address a qualifying medical condition
- Funeral and burial expenses
- Expenses reimbursed by insurance or another source
- Expenses already paid using tax-free HSA or FSA funds
- Most nonprescription medicines, subject to specific tax rules and exceptions
“Healthy” does not automatically mean “medical.”
Gym memberships, nutritional products, wellness purchases, and similar costs do not automatically become deductible simply because they may improve someone's health. The tax treatment depends on the nature and purpose of the expenditure and the applicable medical-expense rules.
HSA and FSA Expenses: Avoid Double-Dipping
Health Savings Accounts and Flexible Spending Arrangements can provide powerful tax advantages for medical spending—but they also create an important limitation.
You generally cannot receive two tax benefits for the same medical expense.
You incur a qualifying medical expense.
Assume you pay a $2,000 qualifying medical bill.
Your HSA reimburses the full $2,000 tax-free.
You have already received a tax benefit through the tax-free HSA distribution.
You cannot deduct the same $2,000 again.
Claiming it again as an itemized medical expense would improperly duplicate the tax benefit.
The same general principle applies to expenses paid or reimbursed through other tax-advantaged arrangements.
Large Medical Expenses Can Create a Tax-Planning Opportunity
Medical deductions often matter most during an unusually expensive healthcare year.
If you know that major elective or planned medical treatment is coming, it can be worthwhile to evaluate the timing of other deductible expenses before the end of the year.
Consider the Timing of Medical Expenses
The medical expense deduction generally looks at expenses actually paid during the tax year. When legitimate flexibility exists, concentrating qualifying expenses into one tax year can sometimes help more of the costs clear the 7.5% AGI threshold.
For example, a taxpayer already facing major surgery during the year might also complete necessary dental treatment, purchase prescribed medical equipment, or address another planned qualifying expense during the same year.
Medical deductions can be very “lumpy.”
$5,000 of qualifying expenses every year may produce little or no deduction for some taxpayers, while concentrating $15,000 of legitimate expenses into one unusually expensive medical year could produce a very different tax result.
Tax considerations should never override appropriate medical care. The point is simply that when the timing of an expense is already flexible, understanding the tax consequences can help you make an informed decision.
What Records Should You Keep?
Good recordkeeping becomes particularly important when medical expenses are large enough to generate a deduction.
Consider keeping:
- Medical and dental invoices
- Receipts
- Prescription records
- Insurance Explanation of Benefits statements
- Proof of amounts actually paid
- Health insurance premium statements
- Records of insurance reimbursements
- Medical mileage logs
- Parking and toll receipts
- Documentation supporting the medical purpose of unusual or specialized expenses
Track expenses during the year—not when you prepare the return.
Reconstructing twelve months of prescriptions, copayments, mileage, dental bills, and insurance reimbursements during tax season is much harder than maintaining those records as expenses occur.
Should You Add Up Your Medical Expenses Even If You Think They Are Too Low?
Sometimes, yes.
Taxpayers often remember large hospital bills but forget the smaller costs scattered throughout the year:
- Prescription copays
- Specialist visits
- Dental work
- Vision expenses
- Medical equipment
- Insurance premiums paid personally
- Medical mileage
- Parking
- Qualified expenses paid for family members
Individually, those expenses may not appear significant. Together—especially in a year involving surgery, chronic illness, major dental work, or another substantial medical event—they can become meaningful.
Don't Leave a Legitimate Deduction Unclaimed
We evaluate medical expenses alongside your other itemized deductions to determine whether Schedule A produces a better tax result and whether less-obvious qualifying expenses should be included.
Explore Tax Preparation ServicesMedical Expenses Can Be Deductible—But the Details Matter
The medical expense deduction can provide meaningful tax savings, particularly during a year involving unusually high healthcare costs. But the deduction is more restrictive than many taxpayers expect.
Qualifying expenses generally must be unreimbursed, they must meet the tax definition of medical care, and only the portion exceeding 7.5% of adjusted gross income becomes part of the potential itemized deduction.
You also need to consider whether you will itemize, whether an expense was already paid through an HSA or FSA, whether insurance reimbursed any portion, and whether another tax rule provides a better treatment—such as the self-employed health insurance deduction.
The right question is not simply, “Did I spend money on healthcare?” It is, “Which of my healthcare costs qualify, how much exceeds the threshold, and where should each expense be reported?”
Frequently Asked Questions
What percentage of medical expenses is tax deductible?
It is not based on deducting a fixed percentage of each bill. If you itemize, you generally may deduct the portion of your total qualifying unreimbursed medical and dental expenses that exceeds 7.5% of your adjusted gross income.
Can I deduct medical expenses if I take the standard deduction?
The traditional individual medical and dental expense deduction is generally claimed on Schedule A, which means you must itemize deductions to claim it. Other medical-related tax benefits, such as the self-employed health insurance deduction or tax-advantaged HSA treatment, operate under different rules.
Can I deduct health insurance premiums?
Certain medical and dental insurance premiums you actually pay with after-tax dollars may potentially qualify as medical expenses. Premiums already paid with pre-tax compensation or otherwise excluded from taxable income generally cannot be deducted again. Self-employed taxpayers may have a separate health insurance deduction available.
Are dental expenses tax deductible?
Many qualifying dental expenses can be included with medical expenses, including treatment intended to prevent or alleviate dental disease. The same 7.5% AGI threshold and itemized-deduction rules generally apply.
Can I deduct medical mileage?
Qualifying transportation primarily for and essential to medical care may be deductible. For 2026, the medical mileage rate is 20.5 cents per mile for miles driven January 1 through June 30 and 23.5 cents per mile for qualifying miles driven beginning July 1, 2026.
Can I deduct medical expenses I paid for my parents?
Potentially. Special dependency rules apply to medical expenses, and certain expenses paid for a parent or qualifying relative may be includable even in some situations where the person is not actually claimed as a dependent. The facts should be reviewed carefully.
Can I deduct expenses that were reimbursed by insurance?
Generally, no. You normally include only the qualifying medical expense that you actually bear after insurance or other reimbursements. If an insurance company pays part of a bill and you pay the remainder, the deductible medical expense is generally based on the amount you actually paid.
Can I deduct an expense I paid with my HSA?
Generally, you cannot claim an itemized deduction for an expense that was paid or reimbursed using a tax-free HSA distribution. Doing so would provide two tax benefits for the same expenditure.
Medical Bills Are Expensive Enough. Don't Miss the Tax Benefit.
Azalea City Tax & Accounting can review your medical, dental, insurance, and other itemized expenses to determine whether you qualify for a medical expense deduction—and make sure the deduction is calculated and reported correctly.