Joy Taylor, the editor of The Kiplinger Tax Letter, answers readers’ questions about health care tax write-offs, i.e., tax break for medical expenses, including the standard deduction, Medicare, and long-term care.
Question: I normally claim the standard deduction when I file my Form 1040. In 2025, I incurred a lot of medical expenses. Can I deduct them and take the standard deduction?
Answer: No. The medical expense write-off is an itemized deduction claimed on Schedule A of Form 1040. Taxpayers who itemize can deduct qualifying medical expenses to the extent that the total amount exceeds 7.5% of adjusted gross income.
Question: My spouse and I each pay monthly premiums for our Medicare coverage. Are they deductible medical expenses?
Answer: Yes. You can claim medical expenses that are not reimbursed by insurance for yourself, your spouse and your dependents.
To qualify as a deduction, the expense must be incurred primarily to alleviate or prevent a physical or mental disability or illness. The broad list of eligible expenses includes out-of-pocket payments for medical services rendered by doctors, dentists, optometrists and other medical practitioners; mental health services; health insurance premiums (including for Medicare Parts B and D); annual physicals; amounts paid for in vitro fertilization; prescription drugs and insulin (but not over-the-counter drugs); hearing aids; transportation to and from the doctor’s office; the unreimbursed costs of long-term care and many home improvements to accommodate a disability or illness. For more, see IRS Publication 502, Medical and Dental Expenses.
Question: What types of unreimbursed long-term-care expenses are deductible?
Answer: The costs of assisted living, in-home care and nursing home services qualify. The long-term care must be medically necessary for one who is chronically ill, meaning at least two activities of daily living can’t be performed without help for 90 days or more. Anyone in need of long-term care because of dementia or other cognitive impairment is also considered chronically ill if substantial supervision is needed to protect the individual’s health and safety. The costs of meals and lodging at a facility or nursing home count as medical expenses if a person is mainly there for medical care.
You can deduct as medical expenses the premiums you pay for a long-term-care insurance policy, too. For 2025 returns, taxpayers who are 71 or older can deduct as much as $6,020 per person. Filers ages 61 to 70 can deduct up to $4,810 per person; people who are 51 to 60 can deduct up to $1,800 each; individuals who are 41 to 50 can deduct up to $900; and people age 40 and younger can deduct no more than $480. For 2026, these caps are $6,200, $4,960, $1,860, $930 and $500, respectively.
Question: I paid a dentist to whiten my teeth. Can I deduct the cost as a medical expense?
Answer: No. The costs of procedures to improve your appearance — such as teeth whitening, a gym membership, cosmetic surgery or a weight-loss program that doesn’t treat a disease diagnosed by a physician — generally aren’t deductible.
Related to health care tax write-offs: HSA Eligible Expenses
Question: Are the costs for a drug treatment program deductible?
Answer: Yes, the cost of treatment for drug use or alcoholism is a medical expense.
Many other health and wellness costs also qualify, including those for a smoking-cessation program, nutritional counseling for a doctor-diagnosed disease, and a weight-loss program to help with the treatment of obesity, hypertension, heart disease or another physical illness diagnosed by a physician. The cost of diet foods, weight-loss supplements and reduced-calorie beverages are not deductible.
Joy Taylor is the editor of The Kiplinger Tax Letter. For more on this and similar money topics, visit Kiplinger.com.
©2025 The Kiplinger Washington Editors, Inc. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
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