My medical expenses are not showing up. Why does it say "needs review?

[lynn-cobb]

I zeroed everything out and started over, but on the line item for medical expenses it still shows not $, only "needs review"?

[AliciaP1]

Sometimes the Medical Expenses Worksheet causes the information to hang up.  You can fix this by deleting the worksheet and then re-entering your medical expenses.

To delete a specific form in TurboTax Online you can follow these steps:

1. Within your return, click on Tax Tools in the black menu on the left side of the screen.
2. Click on Tools.
3. Click on Delete a Form. 
4. Scroll down to your Medical Expenses Worksheet and click Delete.
5. Under Federal in the black menu bar click Deductions & Credits to get back into your tax returns.
6. Scroll down and re-enter your Medical Expenses.
7. Proceed entering/reviewing your return.

To do this in TurboTax Desktop you can follow these steps:

1. Within your return, click on the Forms icon in the upper right of the screen to switch to Forms mode.
2. Scroll down in the menu bar on the left and select your Medical Expenses Worksheet.
3. Click the Delete Form button at the bottom left of the preview screen.
4. Confirm the deletion then click the Step-by-Step icon in the upper right of the screen.
5. Under the Federal Taxes tab and Deductions & Credits, scroll down to Medical Expenses to re-enter the information.
6. Proceed entering/reviewing your return.

[lindainiowa]

I am also having this problem.  Seems we have a problem with something in Turbo Tax every year and we have to delete and reenter. I will try what they suggest and hope it works

[ThomasM125]

Often, your medical expenses are not deductible, as they need to be more than 7.5% of your adjusted gross income and you need to be able to itemize your deductions to get a benefit from them, at least on your federal tax return. So you may not need to enter them in, in which case you can delete the medical expense worksheet and that may resolve your issue.

I suggest you delete the medical worksheet and if your tax does not change, you can leave it off. This is how you delete a form in TurboTax:

1. Click on Tax Tools in the left menu bar
2. Click on Tools
3. Look under Other Helpful Links and choose Delete a form

Find the Medical Wks in the list and click on the delete icon to remove it.

[jan95]

I'm having the same problem.  My medical expenses definitely meet the thresh hold.  All entered.   TT says I'm done, the list of deductions shows no total and says Needs Review. 

[DawnC]

Are you taking the standard deduction?   Medical expenses are an itemized deduction.   If you don't have more itemized deductions than your standard deduction, they don't affect your tax return.   Preview your 1040 and look on line 12 to see if the amount is the standard deduction.   Does the button say Revisit or Needs Review?   You can ignore it; if there is a real issue, TurboTax will highlight the issue during the Smart Check before filing.  

You can deduct (if you itemize) the amount of your medical expenses over 7.5% of your adjusted gross income.   If this amount combined with all of your other itemized deductions is more than your standard deduction, TurboTax will automatically make the switch and add Schedule A to your tax return.   

If you want to change to itemized deduction to see the difference and be able to view your medical expenses, follow the directions in this link.   But remember to change it back if your standard deduction is higher.   For most taxpayers, the standard deduction is the better option.  

Standard vs. Itemized

@jan95 

[jan95]

No, as I mentioned I meet the 7.5% thresh hold and am definitely itemizing deductions.  TT says I will be getting a tax break and it's already been applied.  I click Done and no total shows up in the deduction list - it just shows needs review.

[DawnC]

Can you clarify what number is on Line 12 of Form 1040?    Are you getting any errors when filing or have you not tried to e-file yet?    At the bottom of the Deductions and Credits screen, if you scroll all the way to the bottom and click Continue/Done with Deductions, do you see your itemized deductions?  Or what does that screen say?   @jan95 

[caklingman]

My problem with medical expenses is different:  Although TT has accepted my medical-expense inputs, the "Needs Review" still appears on the "Tax Breaks" page.  When I tried deleting the "Medical Expenses Worksheet" per your instructions, it didn't work:  The "Medical Expenses Worksheet" entry in the "Tools/Delete a Form" list disappeared, but the Medical Expenses row on the "Tax Breaks" page is still there -- and it still shows "Needs Review".  Please advise.  Thanks!

[User2015]

I have the same problem.I’ve tried every suggested fix and the Needs Review doesn’t go away.  

[jan95]

DawnC,  Line 12 shows $56,208 and I'm not completely done yet.  I have not tried to file yet as I am not finished. Clicking Continue at the bottom of the screen takes me to a screen that says I should itemize.  At the end of entering my Medical expenses I get this:

This year, you get a tax break for your medical expenses

Medical Expense Deduction

We're sorry to hear you had medical expenses. Your medical expense deduction is $31,342 this year.

On the main deduction screen it still shows this:

HSA, MSA Contributions	$4,600.00	$4,650.00	Edit
Medical Expenses	$80,050.00	Needs review	Review
Estimated Tax Payments		$70.00	Edit

And now when I try to respond, I get this:  

Your post has been changed because invalid HTML was found in the message body. The invalid HTML has been removed. Please review the message and submit the message when you are satisfied.

[AliciaP1]

Your Medical Expenses Worksheet may be hanging up on something.  You can delete the worksheet and re-enter your medical expenses and you should be able to proceed.

To delete a specific form in TurboTax Online you can follow these steps:

1. Within your return, click on Tax Tools in the black menu on the left side of the screen.
2. Click on Tools.
3. Click on Delete a Form. 
4. Scroll down to your Medical Expenses Worksheet and click Delete.
5. Under Federal in the black menu bar click Deductions & Credits to get back into your tax returns.
6. Scroll down to Medical Expenses and re-enter your information.
7. Proceed entering/reviewing your return.

To do this in TurboTax Desktop you can follow these steps:

1. Within your return, click on the Forms icon in the upper right of the screen to switch to Forms mode.
2. Scroll down in the menu bar on the left and select your Medical Expenses Worksheet.
3. Click the Delete Form button at the bottom left of the preview screen.
4. Confirm the deletion then click the Step-by-Step icon in the upper right of the screen.
5. Click on the Federal Taxes tab and Deductions & Credits and  I'll choose what I work on.
6. Scroll down to Medical Expenses and Start or Update and re-enter your information.
7. Proceed entering/reviewing your return.

@caklingman 

@User2015

@jan95

[jan95]

Thanks, and I already did that.  Deleted the worksheet, re-entered all my information.  Still shows Needs Review.

[BrittanyS]

If you are still receiving the needs review you can go through the workaround of clicking through all 11 screens in medical expenses section until they get the ''you are getting a medical deduction'' or ''the standard deduction is right for you'' screen. The ''needs review'' goes away once you get the confirmation of deduction screen.

@jan95