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
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Learn how to deduct student loan interest with H&R Block. Get information about qualified education expenses and see if a student loan tax deduction applies to you.
Virtual tax preparations let you complete your taxes online from the comfort of your home. Find out how easy remote tax preparations can be at H&R Block.
Tax preparers can have various designation and specialties. Learn how different types of tax preparers at H&R Block can help you in person or virtually.
