do I have to itemize to deduct my dental bills this year-they were quite hefty and the receptionist said I can

Question

claim them on my taxes???? is this even true???

Answer 1

You can deduct dental and medical expenses only if you are able to itemize your deductions. Your medical and dental expenses have to exceed 7.5% of your adjusted gross income which comes from line 38 on your 1040 form. You can either take the standard deducton or itemized deductions but your question does not indicate your martial status, are you paying a mortgage, paying real estate taxes, charity contributions, etc.....

Answer 2

Yes, you'd have to itemize to deduct dental expenses, which falls under the medical expense category.

In addition, you'd only be able to deduct the part of your total medical expenses, including the dental, that's over 7.5% of your adjusted gross income - so if your AGI is $20,000, you couldn't deduct the first $1500 of your medical expenses.

Answer 3

You must itemize to claim any medical deduction. You can claim a deduction for medical bills that exceed 7.5% of your AGI.

Example: Your AGI (adjusted gross income) is $100,000. You can claim a medical deduction for the portion of your medical bills in excess of $7500. (You can't count any portion that was paid by insurance.....just the parts you paid for out of your pocket.)

Answer 4

Yes!