9 Often Overlooked Medical Deductions

Medical Deduction

Health-care costs can eat up a large portion of budgets, particularly if you've experienced a medical emergency. The one advantage is that Uncle Sam allows you to deduct medical costs that are more than 7.5 percent of your adjusted gross income. With a touch of tax triage, you might just reach this golden number and greatly reduce your tax burden.

You can deduct medical expenses of everyone listed on your tax return, including dental bills. You also might be able to deduct expenses paid for a parent, even if they aren't considered your dependent for exemption purposes. You also can deduct money spent on medical bills for a deceased depending in the year they were paid, whether before or after the person passed away.

Here are seven allowable and often overlooked medical deductions.

1. Travel
You can legally deduct travel expenses to and from medical treatments, but the mileage rate changes each year. The deduction for 2010 is 16.5 cents per mile.

2. Uninsured Medical Treatments
This includes extra visionwear, hearing aids, false teeth and artificial limbs.

3. Addition Recovery Programs
You can include the costs of alcohol- or drug-abuse treatments on Schedule A.

4. Smoking Sensation Programs
The IRS approved stop-smoking programs as allowable deductions, adding yet another incentive to give up the cancer sticks for life.

5. Laser Surgery
Lasik and other vision-corrective surgeries are tax-allowable procedures.

6. Diet Programs Medical Necessity
Health-conscious taxpayers have a friend at the IRS. Some weight-loss programs are now considered allowable medical deductions. However, a diet program must be considered a medical necessity. Acceptable situations include when your doctor recommends a regimen to reduce the health risks of obesity or hypertension.

7. Medical Necessities
If your doctor told you to add a humidifier to your home's heating and air conditioning system to relieve your chronic asthma, the equipment may be partially or wholly deductible.

Photo by Sabine01

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11 Comments

Can you deduct some/or all of the cost of your electric bill because of high expense of running air conditioning during spring and summer?

Posted by conner

Can you write off non prescription reading glasses?

Posted by Steve

That's useful info I didn't know about the majority of those deductions. I can use 1,2, and 5 this year.

Posted by Jamin Campbell

With a touch of tax triage, you might just reach this golden number and greatly reduce your tax burden.

Posted by Carina

You can deduct medical expenses of everyone listed on your tax return, including dental bills.

Posted by Cariona

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Posted by Acai Max Cleanse

I agree, Diet Programs Medical Necessity Health-conscious taxpayers have a friend at the IRS. Some weight-loss programs are now considered allowable medical deductions. However, a diet program must be considered a medical necessity. Acceptable situations include when your doctor recommends a regimen to reduce the health risks of obesity or hypertension. But I wanted to share that exercise is still an alternative means.

Posted by Mark L

Since 2003 the IRS has allowed a tax credit that reimburses 100% for money paid for smoking cessation programs. Since this is a tax credit and not a deduction you get a 100% credit for the amount you spent on your smoking cessation program. However, non-prescription drugs such nicotine gum and patches are not covered.

Posted by Frank Kennedy

Deducting the cost of hearing aids will help with your return. But you are better off saving money on the purchase itself. Hearing Care Solutions offers name-brand digital hearing aids for up to 50% off retail. Check them out and get a free hearing exam from a local professional.

Posted by John Keene

Very interesting read on the nine allowable and often overlooked medical deductions.

Posted by Claude Edwin Theriault

"8. Smoking Sensation Programs" I think you mean "Smoking Cessation Programs"

Posted by Inquisitive Raven