Can I deduct health care costs paid as a medical expense on New Jersey tax return?

[Pinkyl321]

Hi all.

I am helping someone finish their taxes and want to ensure that I relay the correct information to them so any help is appreciated. 

My friend lives (and works) in New Jersey and receives health care through her employer. As such there is an amount deducted from each paycheck. On her W2, it is listed in box 14 as Sec125. Now, I know that this is a pretax deduction on the federal level and thus the amount she paid cannot be deducted on the federal tax return. However, it is not pretax for the state of New Jersey. The total amount that she paid for health care all year, as listed in box 14, is included in the New Jersey wages in box 16. So since it was included as part of her state wages and thus taxed on the state level, can she deduct the amount as a medical expense on her New Jersey state return? 

Thank you in advance. 

[rjs]

Yes, on the New Jersey tax return you can include the health insurance premiums in medical expenses, for the reason that you stated. The amount that the employer paid for health insurance is included in taxable New Jersey wages. in the New Jersey interview in TurboTax, the screen for medical expenses has a box specifically for those insurance premiums.

[MonikaK1]

I concur with rjs response. More details as to how to enter the information for New Jersey appear in the discussion in this thread.

[MonikaK1]

I concur with rjs response. More details as to how to enter the information for New Jersey appear in the discussion in this thread.

@Pinkyl321 

[Pinkyl321]

Thank you both for your responses. That is what I thought, but I wanted to confirm before moving forward.