My Medical Expenses deduction keeps showing Needs Review. I've cleared cache, cookies, omitted all zeros, used different browser and private mode on browser. Next?

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.

Thanks for the direction. Unfortunately, following instructions and deleting the form did not work. And deleting the whole return and starting over did not remove

Needs Review

from the Medical Expenses line. However, all the numbers line up and TT is asking to finish and file, so I will simply ignore

Needs Review

.

I cannot recreate this situation in a test file.  It would be helpful to have a TurboTax ".tax2022" file that is experiencing this issue.

 

You can send us a “diagnostic” file that has your “numbers” but not your personal information.  If you would like to do this, here are the instructions: 

 

In TurboTax Online, go to the black panel on the left side of your program and select Tax Tools. 

1. Then select Tools below Tax Tools. 
2. A window will pop up which says Tools Center.  
3. On this screen, select Share my file with Agent. 
4. You will see a message explaining what the diagnostic copy is.  Click okay through this screen and then you will get a Token number. 

In TurboTax CD/Download versions, go to the black panel on the top of your screen and select Online. 

1. Scroll down to and select Send tax file to Agent. 
2. You will see a message explaining what the diagnostic copy is.  Click send through this screen and then you will get a Token number. 

Reply to this thread with your Token number and be sure to use @AliciaP1 at the start of your reponse. This will allow us to open a copy of your return without seeing any personal information.   

We will then be able to see exactly what you are seeing and we can determine what exactly is going on in your return and provide you with a resolution.

 

@maddox-craig 

@maddox-craig 

 

You said you omitted all zeros  but did you also delete the expense listed ?  Are you using the downloaded program ?

 

 

 

@AliciaP1 
token number is: 1089300

@Critter-3Online version and only actual expenses listed with no zeros following the decimal point.

Upon review, when I click the Edit button for the Medical Expenses and review all the questions pertaining to them, the review clears when the screen returns to the Deductions summary screen and there are no errors in the return.  Do not exit the interview process until you see the This year, you get a tax break for your medical expenses screen and click Done.

 

@maddox-craig 

I have the exact problem with the medical expenses worksheet. It still says review even though I've gone through it several times trying to get it to update. I followed the instructions for deleting the worksheet and completing the information again. I'm not sure what to do now. Please advise. Thank you for your assistance.

You need to ensure you proceed through the entire interview and do not exit the process until you see the This year, you get a tax break for your medical expenses screen and then click Done.

 

@rikamae55 

Thank you for responding. I don't get a page that says that. I only get a page that says 'Thanks, we got all of your medical expense info' and then 'Right now, the standard deduction saves you the most on taxes.' When I click on the Done button, I'm returned to the summary page, and the medical expenses category still says it Needs Review. I've been through the entire process page by page clear through state returns, so I don't know what to do differently. I'm not skipping pages. I don't have very much in medical expenses - only medicare premiums deducted from Social Security, a tiny bit in prescriptions, and a small amount for vision expense, so I realize the standard deduction is better, but its disconcerting to see this category not update.

 

Thank you for your help. Rikamae55

It sounds as if this particular worksheet has hung in the Review stage.  Since you would need substantial medical expenses to exceed 7.5% of your adjusted gross income to add to itemized deductions and it sounds like you are taking the standard deduction, it will be best to delete this worksheet.

To delete the form, you can use Delete Forms

 

1. In the left menu, select Tax Tools
2. Select Tools
3. Select Delete a form
4. Scroll to the Medical Expense Worksheet (below Schedule A) and click Delete on the right
5. Then scroll to the bottom and select Continue with my return

Thank you for the suggestion. I deleted the form from the list though I didn't actually see "Schedule A" on the list. Still, the medical expenses form was there, which I have deleted and it no longer shows up on the list of forms under tax tools, delete a form. Since I completed the information last year, thinking it could be important somehow to state taxes, the Medical Expenses category is still listed on the summary and says "Needs Review", but I think any information I had entered for 2022 is no longer filled in. Since my due/refund information didn't change for federal or state after deleting the form, can I still file electronically with this 'Needs Review' designation on the Medical Expenses form since it won't go completely away? I can create a token if that will be helpful. Thank you for your assistance.

It would be helpful to have a TurboTax ".tax2022" file that is experiencing this issue.

 

You can send us a “diagnostic” file that has your “numbers” but not your personal information.  If you would like to do this, here are the instructions: 

 

In TurboTax Online, go to the black panel on the left side of your program and select Tax Tools. 

1. Then select Tools below Tax Tools. 
2. A window will pop up which says Tools Center.  
3. On this screen, select Share my file with Agent. 
4. You will see a message explaining what the diagnostic copy is.  Click okay through this screen and then you will get a Token number. 

In TurboTax CD/Download versions, go to the black panel on the top of your screen and select Online. 

1. Scroll down to and select Send tax file to Agent. 
2. You will see a message explaining what the diagnostic copy is.  Click send through this screen and then you will get a Token number. 

Reply to this thread with your Token number and use @AliciaP1 to start your response. This will allow us to open a copy of your return without seeing any personal information.   

We will then be able to see exactly what you are seeing and we can determine what exactly is going on in your return and provide you with a resolution.

 

@rikamae55 

@AliciaP1

 

The token number is 1095592.

 

Thank you for your assistance.

 

Rikamae55

Upon review, when I click the Edit button for the Medical Expenses and review all the questions pertaining to them, the review clears when the screen returns to the Deductions summary screen and there are no errors in the return.  Do not exit the interview process until you see the Right now, the Standard Deduction saves you the most on taxes screen and click Done.

 

Also, make sure your software is up to date if you are using a CD/Download version of TurboTax.  To check for updates if you're on a PC, open TurboTax and select Check for Updates from the Online menu near the top.  

 

@rikamae55 

Same issue here... I have tried deleting the worksheet, answering all questions.. etc.  Does not finish calculating medical expenses and always says needs review.  

 

Your token number is: 1095678

Upon review, when I click the Edit button for the Medical Expenses and review all the questions pertaining to them, the review clears when the screen returns to the Deductions summary screen and there are no errors in the return.  Do not exit the interview process until you see the Right now, the Standard Deduction saves you the most on taxes screen and click Done.

 

Also, make sure your software is up to date if you are using a CD/Download version of TurboTax.  To check for updates if you're on a PC, open TurboTax and select Check for Updates from the Online menu near the top.  

 

@johnnyg411 

@AliciaP1 

 

Hello.  I feel like a broken record here, but the issue still hasn't resolved. I've...

1) cleared all history, cookies, cache using the 'everything' function to clear ALL of EVERYTHING

2) restarted my browser after making sure it is up to date (firefox)

3) restarted my computer

4) switched browsers to Google Chrome - the 'needs review' is still there

5) deleted the medical expenses page and completed all questions (pages) again entering zero for every answer and not continued until reaching the page about the standard deduction being the best option, then clicking 'done' and being returned to the deductions summary page

6) deleted the medical expenses page and completing all questions (pages) again entering my little bit of information

 

After all of those steps, I have the same result of still seeing 'needs review' for medical expenses. I'm going to clear my form and start over - likely tomorrow. I don't know if it matters, but I'm in the 'free' version. Last year, I paid for an upgraded version, but hadn't made that decision yet this year.

 

Thank you for your assistance - I will try with the cleared form before I consider the switch to a different tax service, which I really don't want to do since I've used online turbotax for so many years. But, I truly don't know what else to try and I don't know what is different in your process when you didn't have the same problem that doesn't also work for me.

 

Rikamae55

 

 

 

I do answer every question... even tried putting $0 in for each of them just to see what happens.  Even after I get to the screen that says Right now, the Standard Deduction saves you the most on taxes it still says it needs review. 

 

Since you are taking the standard deduction, entering medical expenses is unnecessary. Deleting your forms, as TeresaM states above, is your best option.

 

From TeresaM above:

It sounds as if this particular worksheet has hung in the Review stage.  Since you would need substantial medical expenses to exceed 7.5% of your adjusted gross income to add to itemized deductions and it sounds like you are taking the standard deduction, it will be best to delete this worksheet.

To delete the form, you can use Delete Forms

 

1. In the left menu, select Tax Tools
2. Select Tools
3. Select Delete a form
4. Scroll to the Medical Expense Worksheet (below Schedule A) and click Delete on the right
5. Then scroll to the bottom and select Continue with my return

Just an update to my comments previously - I cleared my form and started over. In going through the questions, I encounter the same situation with the medical expenses form. Even when I delete the form, following the instructions provided, it still shows up on the deductions and credit summary page because I completed it last year (I think that's why) and says 'Needs Review'. I have been unsuccessful getting rid of the medical expenses category no matter what I've tried. Despite that it is there and says 'Needs Review', it doesn't seem to interfere with continuing through the rest of completing the tax interview and getting a clear check for review of both federal and state taxes. It also appears that I will be able to file without an issue. As mentioned before, I'm on the free turbotax version. I don't know if it would make a difference if I selected a paid version. I haven't decided if I'll try that yet. I'll watch this page for a few days to see if anyone with this same problem has been able to solve it completely, as I have not been able to do that. Thank you for your assistance.

@AliciaP1

Same problem for me

token number 1097957

 

Thanks for your assistance!

Once you clicked through all 11 medical expense categories, you should get a message that says either ''You are getting a medical deduction tax break'' OR ''The standard deduction is right for you''.    Once you click on DONE at the bottom of that screen, the ''Needs Review'' message should go away and the summary should show the total of what you entered in that section.  

 

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.   If you are taking the standard deduction (not itemizing), you can ignore it; it won't prevent e-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.   

 

@needsAssistance0034 - As soon as I finished clicking through the last expense category, the message went away.    The summary page then reflected the total medical expenses of $26954.   Click on the Revisit button and click all the way through until you get the message about getting a Medical Deduction.    Schedule A with the correct amounts was included with your return both before and after I cleared the message.  

Same problem as these others. I have been through the medical expenses several times. I get a message saying "This year you get a tax break. Medical Expense Deduction. Your tax return already includes this deduction." I click done, yet I still show it needs review. I sent this in under token 1098792.