The following items are deductible medical expenses unless
state otherwise:
Abortion, legal
abortion.
Acupuncture.
Air conditioning
device installed (but moveable) in room for relief from allergies or other
respiratory ailments.
Alcoholism. Treatment,
meals and lodging at therapeutic center for alcohol addiction. Transportation to AA meetings.
Ambulance service.
Artificial limbs and
artificial teeth.
Attendant for
blind or deaf student.
Birth control pills
and other contraceptives prescribed by a doctor.
Body scan. Electronic
body scan.
Braille books/magazines
for use by a visually impaired person.
Deduct the cost that is more than the regular printed editions.
Breast pumps. Breast
pump purchase or rental and related supplies that assist lactation.
Breast reconstruction
after a mastectomy to treat cancer.
Camp. Tuition for
YMCA day camp program designed for children with disabilities.
Capital expenses. Special
equipment installed in the home, or improvements that provide a medical
benefit.
Cars. Cost of
hand controls or the extra cost of a car or van specially designed to hold a
wheelchair.
Childbirth
preparation classes.
Chiropractor.
Contact lenses, including
equipment and materials for using contacts, such as saline solution and enzyme
cleaner.
Cosmetic surgery if
necessary to improve a deformity related to a congenital abnormality, accident
or disease, including obesity. Nondeductible: Face lifts, hair transplants, liposuction and other
unnecessary cosmetic surgery.
Crutches.
Dancing lessons. Nondeductible, even if recommended by a
doctor.
Dental treatment, including
cost of braces, dentures, etc. (but not teeth whitening).
Detachable home
installations such as air conditioners, heaters, humidifiers and air
cleaners used for the benefit of a sick person.
Diagnostic devices.
Diaper service. Nondeductible, unless needed to relieve
the effects of a particular disease.
Diet, special. Tax court has allowed the extra cost of
special food over the cost of a normal diet when prescribed by a doctor to
alleviate a specific medical condition. Nondeductible:
Special food that merely replaces food normally consumed.
Doctor or physician. Legal
medical services provided by medical doctors, surgeons, osteopathic doctors,
dentists, eye doctors, chiropractors, podiatrists, psychiatrists, psychologists,
physical therapists, acupuncturists, psychoanalysts (medical care only) and
authorized Christian Science practitioners.
Drug addiction. Treatment,
meals and lodging at therapeutic center for drug addiction.
Dyslexia language
training.
Exercise program if
doctor recommended as treatment for a specific condition. Nondeductible:
Program to improve general health, even if doctor recommended.
Eyeglasses. If needed for medical reasons. Also includes eye exam fees.
Eye surgery for nearsightedness (LASIK and radial
keratotomy).
Fertility
enhancement. In vitro fertilization or surgery, including surgery that
reverses prior surgery. Expenses to
obtain an egg donor including agency fees, donor fees, the donor’s medical and
psychological testing fees, insurance paid for post-procedure donor assistance
and the legal fees for preparation of the contract with the donor. Nondeductible: Taxpayer had no medical
condition or defect, such as infertility, that required such treatment.
Funeral expenses. Nondeductible: Deductible on decedent’s
federal estate tax return (Form 706).
Guide dog or
other animal to be used by visually impaired, hear-impaired or other physically
disabled persons.
Health club dues. Nondeductible, unless related to a
specific medical condition.
Hearing aids and
batteries.
Hospital care. Inpatient care, including meals and
lodging, if the main reason for being there is to receive medical care.
Household help for
nursing care or qualified long-term care services only. Nondeductible: Personal and household services.
Insurance premiums
for medical and dental care coverage, and replacement of lost or damaged
contact lenses. Don’t claim on Schedule
A any amount reported as a self-employed health paid to an employer-sponsored
health plan with pre-tax dollars. Nondeductible: Medical portion of auto
insurance, insurance premiums for life insurance, loss of earnings, loss of
life, limb or sight, guaranteed payments for days in the hospital or premiums
paid directly to the provider with tax-free distributions from a retirement
plan that would otherwise have been included in income. Caution: Premiums paid for nondependent children under age 27 are
not deductible if an additional cost is incurred.
Laboratory fees.
Laetrile anti-cancer
treatment (Legal).
Laser eye surgery.
Lead paint removal if
done for a child who has, of has had, lead poisoning from eating the paint.
Legal fees paid
to authorize treatment for mental illness. Nondeductible:
Legal fees for guardianship estate management.
Lifetime care advance
payments. If part of the advance
fee is allocated to medical care, the percentage must be specified by the
retirement home in the agreement.
Lodging expense
not provided in a hospital or similar instution while away from home to receive
medical care in a hospital or medical facility related to a hospital, not to
exceed $50 per night for each person. If
a person is unable to travel alone, lodging of a person to accompany the ill
person is also deductible. Nondeductible:
Meals.
Long-term care
insurance/expenses.
Marijuana. Nondeductible, even if legal under state
law when prescribed by a physician in the state where the taxpayer lives. Possession of marijuana is a violation of the
federal Controlled Substances Act and is not considered legally procured under
Regulation Section 1.213-1(e)(2).
Maternity clothes. Nondeductible.
Mattresses and
boards bought specifically to alleviate an arthritic condition.
Medical aids. Wheelchairs, hearing aids and batteries,
eyeglasses, contact lenses, crutches, braces, diagnostic devices and guide dogs
(including costs paid for their care).
Medical conferences. Related
to the chronic illness of a taxpayer, spouse or dependent. Nondeductible:
Meals and lodging while attending the conference.
Medicare
premiums. Medicare Parts B
(supplemental insurance) and D (Prescription drug) are deductible; part A only
if not covered under Social Security, so voluntarily enrolled.
Medicine and drugs,
including insulin, when prescribed by a doctor.
Nondeductible: Over-the-counter
medicine (other than insulin) and prescribed drugs brought in (or ordered and
shipped) from another country, including Canada.
Medical equipment and
supplies sold “Over-the-counter” (without a prescription). This includes
needles, crutches, bandages or diagnostic devises such as blood sugar kits.
Nursing care. Wages,
employment taxes and other amounts (meals included) paid for nursing services
connected with caring for a patient’s condition, including extra rent or utilities
for a larger apartment required to provide space for nurse/attendant. Nondeductible: Personal and household services provided by
attendant, or nursing services for a normal, healthy baby.
Nursing home. Entire
costs for medical care, including meals and lodging, if the main reason for
being in the home is to obtain medical care.
If not entering the home primarily to obtain medical care, only he portion
of the fee actually spent on medical treatment is deductible.
Orthopedic shoes.
Oxygen/oxygen
equipment to relieve medical breathing problems.
Physical examination,
event if not ill at the time of the exam.
Prepaid insurance
paid before age 65 for coverage after reaching age 65 if (1) paid in equal yearly
installments, or more often and (2) payable for at least 10 years or until
taxpayer reaches age 65 (but not less than 5 years).
Pregnancy test kit.
Prosthetic limbs.
Reclining chair bought
on a doctor’s advice by a person with a cardiac condition, and not generally
used as furniture.
Sex therapy at a
hospital upon doctor’s advice.
Smoking cessation
programs and prescribed drugs to alleviate nicotine withdrawal are
deductible. Program does not need to be
recommended by a physician or for a specific condition. Nondeductible:
Nonprescription nicotine patches and gum.
Special education. Tuition
for sending a mentally impaired or physically disabled person to a special
school that has resources to relieve the disability. Meals, lodging and transportation to and from
the school are also deductible.
Sterilization,
legal.
Swimming. Prescribed
therapeutic swimming costs including cost of maintaining a swimming pool at
taxpayers residence. Nondeductible: Swimming
lessons, even if recommended by a doctor.
Teeth Whitening. Nondeductible
Telephone. Cost/repair
of special telephone equipment for hearing impaired person.
Television. Cost
of equipment to display the audio part of a television program for
hearing-impaired persons, or cost of specially equipped television that exceeds
the cost of the same model regular television.
Therapy, received
as medical treatment.
Transplants. Surgical,
hospital, laboratory and transportation expenses for a transplant donor or
possible donor.
Transportation costs
to obtain medical care such as ambulance service, bus, taxi, train, plan fares,
parking fees, tolls and use of personal vehicle at 19 cents a mile for January
1st - June 30th,
2011 and 23.5 cents a mile for July 1st – December 31st,
2011 or actual cost of gas and oil. Nondeductible:
Extra commuting expenses to take a disabled person to work who cannot drive
himself. The transportation was not for
the treatment of a medical condition.
Travel by parents
to visit their child in a special school for children with drug problems. Parents required to participate in family
therapy sessions. Nondeductible: Meals.
Vasectomy (legal)
and reversal.
Visual alert system for
hearing impaired.
Vitamins and other
nutritional supplements. Nondeductible,
unless recommended by a medical practitioner as treatment for a specific,
physician-diagnosed medical condition.
Weight loss program (but
generally nor food) as treatment for a specific disease, including health club
costs (other than normal membership dues) if necessary to fulfill the individuals
exercise needs. Obesity is a disease
long as a physician has made a diagnosis of obesity.
Wheelchairs and
motorized scooters for permanent or temporary disability.
Wig for the
mental health of a patient with hair loss caused by disease.
X-ray services.
