I spent $600 for health care out of my pocket because my insurance doesn't cover it. Is that tax deductible?

Question

Is this $600 tax deductible or will it be used in calculating if my itemized deductions are greater than standard deductions?

Answer 1

Hi there! I wasn't able to respond to you by the email thing. It didn't go through.

But here's my answer.

Any of your health expenses that are greater than 7.5% of your adjusted gross income (basically your wages times 7.5) would be available to include in your itemized deductions. That amount plus any state income taxes, real estate taxes and other amounts would total your itemized deductions. If they were greater than the standard, then the medical expenses paid would have given you a tax benefit.

In my experience, most people do not get tax benefit from their medical expenses. Your income has to be severely low or your medical expenses so steep to give you a beneficial deduction.

Does this help?

PS - I'm not sure where the other answers are getting 2%. Medical is supposed to be 7.5%

Answer 2

Health care expenses in excess of 2.0% of your gross income are tax deductible, but the first 2% are not - only if you itemize though. So the $600 by itself may not be tax deductible, but when you combine it with your other medical expenses (dental, braces, prescription drugs, etc) it may be.

Answer 3

Maybe. But it's only deductible if it more than 2% of your income. So if your income is 30k or more, then you probably would deduct, but if it's less than 30k then you would not. In either case, you might still be better off with the Std Deduction, and then you can't deduct it.

Answer 4

Molly is right. It's 7.5%.
Publication 502 lists the expenses you can deduct.
If your employer offers a healthcare flexible spending account, maybe you should look into it.