Can Medical expenses and 401k contributions be listed as deductions ? If so how? I am filing my taxes with standard deduction

[IreneS · Accepted solution]

UPDATED FOR TAX YEAR 2019

Yes and No.

Medical Expenses

Yes to the medical expenses, but only if you are itemizing deductions (and not taking the standard deduction).

Please keep in mind the following about deducting your medical expenses, including health insurance:

• You don't get the benefit if you are taking the standard deduction.
• If you itemize deductions, you will only be able to take total medical expenses that are greater than 7.5% of your adjusted gross income.  

To enter your medical expenses in TurboTax, please follow these steps:

1. Click on Federal Taxes > Deductions & Credits  [In TT Self-Employed:  Personal > Deductions & Credits > I'll choose what I work on].
2. In the Medical section, click on the Start/Revisit box next to Medical Expenses.  
3. If you haven't yet entered any medical expenses, TurboTax will ask you if your total medical expenses exceed a certain number.  [That's the 7.5% AGI mentioned above.]     
4. If you think your total medical expenses will exceed that number, click the blue Yes box and continue through the interview, entering the requested information on your medical expenses.

401k Contributions

No. If the 401k contributions were taken from your paycheck, do not enter them separately in TurboTax.  The contributions are already subtracted from your taxable income (box 1).  The deduction amount should appear in box 12 of your W-2 with a code D.

[Edited | 4/9/2020 |  11:23am PDT]

[taxpayer145]

Great! Thanks for the quick reply. I am filing via Turbo tax and after answering few questions the software suggested me to with standard deductions. Another follow-up question - can I add child care expenses as miscellaneous? We have a baby in December and I paid $1000 for nanny for two weeks to help new mom and child, but I never asked for her SSN or anything? Can I claim this amount as deductible ? If so how can I do that?

[IreneS]

Congratulations on the new baby!  In order to claim the child & dependent care credit, you need the Nanny's EIN or SSN.

If you can get that info, you can add the child care expenses
1. Click on Federal Taxes > Deductions & Credits  [In TT Self-Employed:  Personal > Deductions & Credits > I'll choose what I work on].
2. Scroll down to the You and Your Family section and click on the Start/Revisit box next to Child and Dependent Care Credit.