MEDICAL AND DENTAL EXPENSES
You can deduct most expenses relating to medical or dental diagnosis,
treatment or prevention as long as those expenses are in excess of
7.5 percent of your adjusted gross income (AGI).
You can deduct the expenses for any of the following procedures, services
or health-related items:
1. Hearing aids, including repairs or maintenance (such as new batteries).
2. Acupuncture.
3. Alcoholism treatment at an inpatient facility or transportation costs to
and from doctor-recommended Alcoholics Anonymous meetings.
4. Ambulance rides.
5. Bandages or similar medical supplies.
6. Birth control medication.
7. Body scans.
8. Braille reading materials. You can deduct the difference between the
cost of Braille books or magazines and the cost of non-Braille versions
of the same publications.
9. Breast pumps.
10. Breast reconstruction surgery following a mastectomy.
11. Chiropractor visits.
12. Christian Science practitioner visits.
13. Contact lenses.
14. Crutches.
15. Dental services, except for teeth whitening.
16. Dentures.
17. Diabetic supplies.
18. Diagnostic devices.
19. Disabled dependent care.
20. Drug addiction treatment at an inpatient facility.
21. Eye exams.
22. Eyeglasses.
23. Eye surgery to correct defective vision.
24. Fertility procedures or surgeries.
25. Founder’s fees used to prepay medical treatment in a nursing home.
26. Guide dogs, including all expenses to feed and care for them.
27. Health institute treatments prescribed by a doctor.
28. Health insurance premiums, including HMOs or Medicare, as long as
you pay the premiums yourself. It does not include life insurance or
insurance that covers the loss of income due to a medical condition

29. Hearing aids, including repairs or maintenance (such as new batteries).
30. Hearing-impaired telephone or television equipment, including repairs.
31. Home improvements or renovations designed to accommodate a medical
condition. You can deduct the cost of the improvements minus the
amount that they increase the home’s value. You can also deduct the
cost of maintaining those improvements after they are built.
32. Hospital stays.
33. Laboratory fees.
34. Lead-based paint removal, if it is for the benefit of a child with lead
poisoning. The application of new paint is not included.
35. Legal fees needed to authorize mental illness treatments.
36. Lodging required for medical care away from home (up to $50 per
person, per night).
37. Long-term care.
38. Meals during any stay at a medical facility.
39. Medical conferences.
40. Nursing homes.
41. Nursing services.
42. Organ donation.
43. Osteopathic care.
44. Oxygen.
45. Physicals.
46. Pregnancy tests.
47. Prescription drugs.
48. Prosthetic limbs.
49. Psychiatric care.
50. Psychoanalysis.
51. Psychologist visits.
52. Special education schooling or tutoring that is recommended by
a doctor.

53. Sterilization.
54. Stop-smoking programs, except for over-the-counter medicines.
55. Surgeries, as long as they are not unnecessary cosmetic surgery.
56. Therapy.
57. Transportation that is necessary for medical care. This includes the
cost of modifying a vehicle to accommodate a medical condition,
or the additional cost of a wheelchair-accessible vehicle over the cost
of a regular vehicle. It also includes transportation costs to and from
medical treatments, such as public transportation fares, fuel costs,
tolls and parking.
58. Vasectomies.
59. Weight-loss programs that are prescribed by a doctor to treat obesity
or related diseases. Food expenses are generally not included.
60. Wheelchairs.
61. Wigs that are recommended by a doctor to treat the mental health
of someone with disease-related hair loss.
62. X-rays.