Dad in memorycare. have med form 1823, etc. Believe all cost med. deduct. (after 7.5%). will keep docs. anything to give to IRS as this is big change from '16.

[xmasbaby0]

It seems like you tried to cram as much in a short question as possible, and it is very unclear what you are asking.  Could you elaborate?  (There was space below the initial "question" area where you could have done that but perhaps you did not notice it.)

[winsorke]

Because Dad was not in MC last year,  his 2017 tax return will show a very large medical expense/deduction. (I do his returns) I see no place to explain to the IRS why the change. I have the documentation to back up the claim. Do I just wait to see if he get audited, or is there some way to pre-emptively tell the IRS the "why"?

[xmasbaby0 · Accepted solution]

No there is not a way to preemptively inform the IRS as to why your father has high medical expenses for 2017. They do not read notes, etc.  Enter the medical expenses paid in 2017.  If there are any questions (unlikely) they will request information.  It is not unusual for elderly people to have high medical expenses.

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 is the amount that is OVER 7.5% of your adjusted gross income. You should only enter the amount that you paid in 2017—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

[xmasbaby0]

@winsorke  I just corrected the threshold amount to the 7.5% that was recently changed by the tax reform law.

[winsorke]

Thanks. I did know that part, and know that TurboTax will do the math for me.

[macuser_22]

The tax law that affects the medical deduction was just signed into law.  The official IRS Schedule A is still the 2016 version.  Until the IRS publishes the 2017 version with the changes and then issues the 2017 e-fileing specifications for Schedule A to tax software companies (like TurboTax) the form cannot be finalized.   Everyone is waiting for the IRS.