TT for Ohio prompts for medical care expenses. Ohio IT 1040 states to include expenses Medical in excess of 7.5% of federal AGI. Since I'm below 7.5%, should I input $0?

[gis-l]

I have a feeling that the TurboTax question "Medical Care Expenses Paid?" is not specific enough for the state of Ohio, but cannot tell for certain. For example, let's say my medical expenses [I'm already aware of what qualifies as a medical expense, BTW] are only $3k, but in order to get to get to the excess, I need to go over $12k (pretending that's my 7.5% of federal AGI figure). I'm questioning whether my inputting of $3k will translate / be misinterpreted to declare to Ohio that I had $3k in medical expenses on top of the $12k, rather than simply stating I had $3k of medical expenses for the year. If that is the case, I feel it is safer for me to not list anything at all (or simply zero). Because I don't have the forms view in the TurboTax Online version, I am not able to determine how answering this question will affect my Ohio return. If anyone happens to know I would be most appreciative!

[CatinaT1 · Accepted solution]

You correctly understand how the deduction works regarding only being able to deduct medical expenses beyond the 7.5% threshold.

TurboTax does all the calculations for you, so when it asks for your medical expenses, it asks for a total without regard to the threshold. When you enter your total medical expenses as $3000, the software will see that as an annual amount, not an amount over the threshold. 

[gis-l]

I'm glad you could understand me despite the typos! I tend to stay up late at night and my mind isn't the sharpest during these times. Thank you so much for answering my question clearly and quickly! 🙂