Medical expense deductions

ritaterhorsttax · ‎March 15, 2026

I am doing a return for my elderly mother who lives in a memory care facility. Her expenses far exceed the 7.5% requirement to be itemized but the program keeps stating that the standardized deduction is better. I did the same return last year without any issue. Not sure why it's not yeilding the same result this year.

LaShaunA3

This year there is an enhanced senior deduction that can add up to $6,000 to the standard deduction, which may make the standard deduction the better option.

If you still want to switch to itemized deductions:

Go back through the Itemized Deductions section. After navigating, you should reach a page that says.“Based on what you told us, the Standard Deduction is right for you.”
On this page, you will see a link or button labeled. “Change my deduction.” This is the only place where TurboTax lets you override the automatic choice.
Select it

For more information, see Deductions for Seniors.

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Mike9241

The enhanced senior deduction is not dependent on whether a taxpayer uses the standard deduction or itemizes. It's in addition to whichever is used. However, above a certain income level, it starts getting phased out. The calculation is done on Schedule 1-A Part V.

TurboTax is supposed to optimize between the standard deduction and itemized deductions. I'm not sure if Turbotax would use itemized if the taxpayer's standard deduction already results in no taxable income.