I am itemizing my tax return. Which medical expenses can I deduct?
When itemizing your medical expenses, the medical expenses you can deduct include:
For the treatment of a disease:
- Diagnosis
- Curing
- Easing
- Treatment
- 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.
Deductible medical expenses include:
- Acupuncture
- Alcoholism treatment
- Ambulance service
- Annual physicals
- Bandages
- Birth control
- Body scan
- Braces
- Braille books and magazines for the visually impaired
- Breast pumps and supplies
- Chiropractic care
- Christian Science practitioner care
- Contact lenses and the supplies required to maintain them
- Necessary dental treatment (doesn’t include whitening)
- Diagnostic devices (Ex: blood sugar test kit for a diabetic)
- Drug addiction treatment
- Prescribed medications
- Eye doctor
- Eye glasses
- Eye surgery
- Fertility enhancement
- Guide dog or other service animal
- Hearing aids
- Home care
- Insulin
- Insurance premiums
- Lab fees
- Lead-based paint removal (not repainting)
- Certain Medicare A, B, and, D
- Nursing home or services
- Oxygen
- Physical or occupational therapy
- Prosthesis
- Psychiatric care
- Psychologist
- Sex-reassignment surgery and related hormone therapy for the treatment of gender-identity disorder disease
- Sterilization
- Smoking cessation programs except over-the-counter nicotine gums and patches
- Surgery
- Transplants
- Transportation to obtain medical care
- X-rays
Related Resources
Are you wondering “Why do I owe taxes this year?” and are stumped for the answer? Let H&R Block’s experts explain why you may owe and what you can do about it.
Learn more about the tax requirements of being married and filing separately with advice from the tax experts at H&R Block.
If your spouse died before signing their return, what should you do? Learn more about filing taxes for a deceased spouse from the tax experts at H&R Block.
If you're a student, you may be eligible for a tax credit. Learn more about education tax credits like the American Opportunity credit and more at H&R Block.
