Any costs that you incur relating to diagnosing curing treating or preventing illnesses or diseases are considered medical expenses. They can relate to any specialty of the body and can also include amounts paid for fee to doctors, dentists, surgeons, and other staff who provided medical care. In addition, medical expenses can also include the cost of equipment, supplies, or devices used to treat or diagnose.
In order to deduct medical expenses at tax time, the expenses must relate to a method of treatment or prevention for either a physical or mental illness. Expenses from General Health related items such as vitamins or stress relievers do not qualify for a tax deduction.
Medical expenses can include:
- Insurance premiums
- Costs for medical transportation
- Long-term care costs when paid to qualified services
- A portion of money paid a two sir in qualifying long term Care Insurance
If any of your expenses were reimbursed by insurance companies or other third parties, you won’t be able to include these expenses in your deduction. It doesn’t matter if the payment was made to you directly or to the service provider. If you pay by check, the date of payment is the day the check was mailed or delivered. In online payment or payment through the phone will have a date of payment as the day the bank statement posts. If you charge expenses on a credit card, it doesn’t matter when you pay, but the year in which the charges are applied to the card are the year in which they are eligible for deduction.
If you need to claim expenses for years past, you’ll have to file Form 1040X, Amended U.S. Individual Tax Return. You’ll need to file for the year that the expense was incurred. Generally, you have either three years from the filing date, or two years from the payment of due taxes, depending which is later, to file an amended return. Do not include expenses from previous years on your current tax return.
