Qualified Medical Expenses

Following is a list of qualified medical expenses that you can report on Form 1040 as a deduction. We don’t claim to include every conceivable deductible medical expense, but it’s a pretty hefty start! The expenses are listed in alphabetical order. For a complete list of qualified medical expenses, see IRS Publication 502, Medical and Dental Expenses.

• Acupuncture
• Air conditioner necessary for relief from allergies or other respiratory problems (less any increase in the value of your home resulting from installation of air conditioning)
• Alcoholism treatment. Includes inpatient treatment, meals, and lodging at a therapeutic center for alcohol addiction.
• Artificial limbs
• Artificial teeth
• Birth control pills prescribed by a doctor
• Braille books and magazines used by a visually-impaired person
• A clarinet and lessons to treat the improper alignment of a child’s upper and lower teeth
• Contact lenses, including equipment and materials for using contacts
• Cosmetic surgery, if it’s necessary to improve a deformity related to a congenital abnormality, accident or disease
• Diet, special. When prescribed by a doctor, you can deduct the extra cost of purchasing special food to alleviate a specific medical condition.
• Doctor or physician expenses
• Drug addiction treatment. Includes inpatient treatment, meals, and lodging at a therapeutic center for drug addiction.
• Elastic hosiery to treat blood circulation problems
• Exercise program if a doctor has recommended it as treatment for a specific condition
• Extra rent or utilities for a larger apartment required in order to provide space for a nurse/attendant
• Eye surgery, when it is not for cosmetic purposes only
• Guide dog or other animal used by a visually-impaired, hearing-impaired, or otherwise physically disabled person
• Hospital care
• Household help for nursing care services only
• Insurance premiums for medical care coverage
• Laboratory fees
• Lead-based paint removal. This includes the cost of removing lead-based paints from surfaces in circumstances where a child has lead poisoning or was previously diagnosed with lead poisoning. It does not include the cost of repainting: just the cost of removal.
• 24. Legal fees paid to authorize treatment for mental illness
• Lifetime care advance payments
• Lodging expenses while away from home to receive medical care in a hospital or medical facility
• Long-term care insurance and long term care expenses. There are limitations to what you can deduct.
• Mattresses and boards bought specifically to alleviate an arthritic condition
• Medical aids. This includes wheelchairs, hearing aids and batteries, eyeglasses, contact lenses, crutches, braces, and guide dogs (including costs paid for their care).
• Medical conference admission costs and travel expenses for a chronically ill person or a parent of a chronically ill child to learn about new medical treatments.
• Medicines and drugs
• Nursing care.
• Nursing home expenses. This includes the entire cost of medical care, including meals and lodging if the main reason for being in the home is to obtain medical care.
• Oxygen and oxygen equipment.
• Reclining chair bought on a doctor’s advice by a person with a cardiac condition.
• Special education. Tuition for sending a mentally impaired or physically disabled person to a special school that has resources to relieve the disability.
• Smoking cessation programs. The program does not have to be recommended by a physician.
• Swimming. Therapeutic swimming costs prescribed by a physician.
• Telephone. The cost and repair of special telephone equipment for a hearing-impaired person.
• Television. The cost of equipment used to display the audio part of a TV program for hearing-impaired persons.
• Transplants of an organ, but not hair transplants.
• Transportation costs for obtaining medical care.
• Travel expenses for parents visiting their child in a special school for children with drug problems, where the visits are part of the medical treatment.
• Weight loss program, if it is recommended by a doctor to treat a specific medical condition or to cure any specific ailment or disease
• Whirlpool baths prescribed by a doctor.
• Wig for the mental health of a patient who lost his or her hair due to a disease.
• X-ray services.