medical expenses and 1040, schedule A tax form

Yes they will all do that. Just ask in January. Remember you can also claim your share of health insurance premiums too.

I beg your pardon but insulin is a deductible item. It is one of the few things you can deduct that can be purchased without a prescription.

Yes, we have taken a deduction every year for at least 10 years under the medical expense deduction on Schedule A.

It is helpful to keep any statements and receipts you get. Some organizations will print you a list but it may or may not be completely accurate.

Since we usually end up with $15,000+ in deductible expenses I try to always document things through receipts and through my calendar. Even if I have a medical appt like a blood draw that doesn't involve a copay or payment I note it in my calendar and auto log. Then I deduct the mileage.

Mileage can really add up so it's helpful to keep track of that too.

But before you go to all that trouble, do an estimate of your expenses for one quarter and use that to project your expenses for the entire year.

Then estimate your taxable income and do the 7.5% floor calculation. If you exceed this you may still want to think twice about taking this deduction for a couple reasons.

1. Generally speaking you only get 20 cents on the dollar for any deductions you have. So if you exceed the 7.5% floor by $100 you *may* get a reduction in *gross income* of $20. I say *may* because, if you have tax credits that reduce your taxes to zero or close to that you are likely to get almost no benefit from this deduction.

2. It is more likely to trigger an audit than taking other Schedule A deductions like property taxes. This is not really a big risk for 99% of the people filing taxes but it is a small risk.

An accountant once told us to add a statement at the end of our tax return providing a brief explanation of our excessive medical expenses. So every year that's what I do. There's a generic blank form that you can use for this purpose.

Last year I put something like this: our son has 3 chronic serious diseases. He takes multiple medications each day, has several doctors appointments each month and sees specialists that are 100 miles from our home. So our total medical expenses are quite high.

I have never done this but I am going to try this year. Since Jan I have been saving all of my Rx receipts and plan on getting a print out from the hospital at the end of the year. We'll see how it works out.

Only those for the current year regardless of when the bill was paid.

The date that the bill is considered paid varies by means of payment:

check - date mailed
credit cared - date charged
online or pay by phone - date shown by your financial institution as paid

To claim bills incurred in previous years file 1040X

Great info you guys - thanks!!

You cannot claim your portion of INS premiums if you pay with pre tax dollars through work. Does anyone know if programs like remistart, the remicade reimbursement program send you a 1099 for the money they pay you? Save all receipts!

I wonder if I could go back on last year's return and re-do it? What do you think?

Thanks, I may do that. I've not considered that. I have to get my ducks in a row first.