Medical Expenses paid for adult son who lives with me and is under my insurance

[khartranft]

My adult son had income of $10,723 in 2024. His medical expenses were $2259 out of my pocket. He is covered under my employer sponsored plan. Can he itemize the costs on his return? Or can I? I have not recently claimed him as a dependent, but should I?

[DawnC]

He can't be claimed as a dependent as his income is too high.   Medical expenses are an itemized deduction; you can choose to take either the standard deduction or you can itemize your expenses, but you can't do both.   Since the standard deduction is higher than his medical bills, it would not be beneficial to itemize.   The standard deduction is higher than the medical expenses.  

• The IRS allows all taxpayers to deduct their qualified unreimbursed medical care expenses that exceed 7.5% of their adjusted gross income.
• You must itemize your deductions on IRS Schedule A in order to deduct your medical expenses instead of taking the Standard Deduction.