Are medical expense returns included in my federal refund, or will I receive a separate return?

[knsaga]

I am under 65 and paid over 10% of what I earned in 2016. I  was wondering how the return works for medical expenses, as in where and when will it show up?

[knsaga]

Total income: $7,716 ; Medical expenses: $3,808.00

[xmasbaby0]

What was the source of your income?  Were taxes withheld?  Were you a dependent on anyone else's tax return?

[knsaga]

Source of income was from three different part-time jobs (all W-2's filled out). Taxes were withheld for all three. And yes, I am dependent on my mother.

[xmasbaby0]

Your refund is limited to the amount withheld from your pay.  If you are a dependent, then your parent can deduct your medical expenses.  Are you under 24 and a full-time student?

[knsaga]

But if I paid those medical expenses out of pocket, not my mom, would she still be able to deduct my medical expenses? In Jan, 2016 I graduated from university at 24 years old.

[xmasbaby0]

If you were 24 at the end of 2016 and NOT a full-time student for 2016, your mom cannot claim you as a dependent for 2016. You earned over the $4050 list to be claimed as a dependent..  So that needs to be changed on both of your tax returns.  As for the medical expense, the answer remains that your refund will only be the difference between your taxes withheld and your tax liability.  You should receive a refund of some taxes withheld, since you can claim yourself, but it will not equal the amount of your paid medical expenses.

[knsaga]

Got it, thank you so much for clarifying this for me!

[xmasbaby0]

You're welcome.

[xmasbaby0 · Accepted solution]

There is not a separate refund of medical expenses.  If your medical expenses meet the threshold, AND you have enough other itemized deductions to exceed your standard deduction, your refund includes the amount calculated for your medical expenses paid in 2016.

The medical expense deduction has to meet a rather large threshold before it can affect your return. The amount of medical expenses that will count toward itemization for someone under 65 is the amount that is OVER 10% of your adjusted gross income; for someone 65 or older it would be the amount over 7.5% of your AGI.  

You should only enter the amount that you paid in 2016—do not include any amounts that were covered by insurance or that are still outstanding.  Of course, your medical expenses plus your other itemized deductions still have to exceed your standard deduction before you will see a difference in your tax due or refund.

To enter your medical expenses go to Federal>Deductions and Credits>Medical>Medical Expenses