Medical bills are one of the most expensive costs people face. In 2017 Americans spent 3.5 trillion dollars on medical expenses alone. 

Medical care can get expensive regardless of if you have insurance coverage or not. If you’re concerned about your growing medical expenses, you can take comfort in knowing that you could see some of that money back during tax time. 

If you’ve haven’t searched for the phrase what medical expenses are tax-deductible, you may not know that it’s possible to claim some of your health care costs on your taxes. 

We’re going to give you a quick lesson on tax deductions and medical bills so you’re ready when you see your accountant during the next tax season.

A Quick Note On Rules and Exclusions

It’s important to note that it isn’t possible to write off every single medical expense you incur over a tax year.

There are strict guidelines regarding what the average person can claim, but as long as you meet a certain threshold, you can cover a surprising amount of costs. 

The IRS will only let you deduct a qualified medical expense if they’re more than 7.5% of your gross adjusted income. If costs are below that, you won’t be able to deduct it.

You also won’t be able to deduct the cost of non-prescription drugs (insulin is the only exception to this rule) and products like toothpaste or vitamins.

Cosmetic procedures also typically aren’t able to be deducted on taxes, and the same thing goes for any costs you may have paid for pet care and pet insurance.

What Medical Expenses Are Tax-Deductible: Often Overlooked Deductions

That being said, there are a lot of expenses you can deduct for you and your dependents.

Like we said, the important thing here is that everything you’re trying to claim is more than 7.5% of your gross adjusted income. If you reach that threshold, you can feel free to claim the following things.

Reproductive Health Costs

If you recently had a baby, you should expect to see more tax benefits that go beyond the typical child tax deduction.

Having a child can be very expensive, and you can write off a lot of the costs. Your labor and delivery fees, fertility treatments, and even your breast pump can be written off as an expense.

Addiction and Weight Loss Programs

Did your doctor tell you that you had to lose weight or quit smoking and prescribed an addiction recovery program? Did you or a loved one spend time in doctor or court-ordered rehab?

You may be able to write off some of the costs associated with those programs.

If your doctor told you to stop drinking because you were at risk for liver disease or to lose weight to avoid hypertension, you could write off any programs and medications you had to pay for because they’re medically necessary.

Long Term Care

Physical rehabilitation centers, home care, and nursing homes can be expensive. Luckily, you can write off many of those costs at the end of the year.

This is an often-overlooked deduction for many caregivers. If you have an elderly dependent, you should look into writing off all of the costs you’ve contributed towards their care.

Reach Out

When you take time to think about what medical expenses are tax-deductible, you may find yourself thinking of other ways to save money on health care.

We have a lot of affordable insurance plans that can give you the coverage you need to save money. Visit our quote page so you can see how much you can save with one of our policies.