I took an early withdraw from 401k and I need to know if the hospital fees for an elective surgery are able to be claimed

[PattiF]

It depends, the hospital fees can be claimed as a medical deduction for Schedule A if they are included in the What Medical Expenses Are Includible? section of IRS Publication 502.

Scroll down to see the left column of the IRS Publication 502  to see if your elective surgery is included in the list of Includible Medical Expenses.

[Opus 17]

Most surgical expenses are deductible medical expenses.  If you have expenses that are more than 7.5% of your adjusted gross income, and you take an early 401k withdrawal to pay those expenses, the part of the withdrawal used to pay expenses more than 7.5% of your income is exempt from the 10% early withdrawal penalty.  (You still pay regular income tax.)

If you list all your deductible medical expenses, Turbotax will figure out if you qualify for that exemption.  

Deductible expenses are those used to treat, prevent, mitigate or cure any disease or condition that affects the natural function of the body.  The surgery can be elective, it does not have to be emergency, as long as it is to treat a disease or condition affecting the normal function of the body (Knee replacement, LASIK, etc.).  Purely cosmetic surgery is not deductible, but cosmetic surgery for health reasons is deductible.  (Breast enlargement for appearance is not deductible, but breast reconstruction after cancer surgery is deductible.)