Medical Deductions 2019

[Anonymous]

I am attempting to get my 2019 tax return done before the cut off.

I have two questions that perhaps someone can help me with.

In the year 2019 I had a great deal of medical expense. The actual medical expenses were for the most part covered by my insurance but there were other associated expenses.  My medial treatment was in Phoenix and I live in Yuma, 180 miles away.  There were any number of trips back and forth over a period of six weeks. 1) My question is this can I deducted my living expenses while in Phoenix? I had to stay in Phoenix and there was a lot of expense of food and lodging.

A number of years ago I went through a lot of brain damage gathering up all my medical expenses for the year only to find out that it made no difference in my return. 2) Is there a rule of thumb for even going through the hassle of detailing all the expenses? If you have say, 5k or 10k or 20k is there a point where it might be worth filing a deduction?

[NCperson]

@Anonymous - let me answer the easy part first

1) only the medical expenses that exceed 7.5% of your income is eligible for itemization.  So look at Line 11 (AGI).  the first 7.5% of that number gets subtracted from yoru total medical expenses.

2) Further, do you have enough expenses to itemize at all?  If you are filing Single, the standard deduction is $12,200 for 2019 (add $1650 if you were 65 years old or older in 2019).  if you don't have this level of expense in total (medical or otherwise), forget tallying up all the medical expense and just take the standard deduction.  

3) For Room and Board,  you can deduct the cost of meals and lodging at a hospital or similar institution if you’re there to receive medical care. In other settings, you can deduct the cost of lodging ($50 per day maximum) while away from home if you meet all of the following requirements:

1. The lodging is primarily for and essential to medical care
2. The medical care is provided by a doctor in a licensed medical care facility
3. The lodging isn’t lavish or extravagant under the circumstances
4. The stay isn’t for personal pleasure, recreation, or vacation

[Anonymous]

Thanks so much for your response.

I have been filing taxes for over 40 years and I still find new things I never encountered before.😊

[Opus 17]

@Anonymous 

The previous answer did not address transportation.

If you travel to receive medical care, you can deduct your actual car, bus or plane fare.  If you drive your own car, you can deduct your actual cost for fuel, or you can deduct 17 cents per mile (for 2019), but not both. You can also deduct tolls and parking fees.

Also as regards to lodging, you can deduct your actual lodging cost up to $50 per night as said, but you can also deduct lodging cost for one additional person, if a caregiver accompanied you on the trip.  (Normally this would be a parent taking a child for care, but it can also apply you brought a companion or caregiver with you.)

While it is generally true that to receive a tax benefit from listing all your expenses, you must have itemized expenses that total more than your standard deduction, most people have at least some other itemized deductions, even if they don't normally list them.  Other itemized deductions include property taxes, mortgage interest, state and local income or sales tax, and gifts to charity.  For example, if you pay $2000 in state tax and make a $500 gift to charity, you would normally use the standard deduction.  But if you itemize because of your medical expenses, these other itemized deductions help get your total deductions to be more than the standard deduction.