Medicare expense

[SAF01]

My medicare was not effective until 2/1/22. I was responsible for my cancer treatments in January 2022. Can I deduct January's expenses from my 2022 taxes?

[jkellett2]

You can deduct any medical expenses not covered by insurance and/or Medicare in 2022.  

However, there are certain limitations.  Medical expenses are limited to 7.5% of your Adjusted Gross Income (AGI).  For example, if your AGI is $50,000 and your medical expenses (not covered by insurance or Medicare) were $10,000.  7.5% of $50,000 is $3,750.  Medical expenses (not covered by insurance or Medicare) exceeding the $3,750 would be deductible....or, in this case, $6,250.

Also, deductible Medical Expenses are an Itemized Deduction, along with certain Taxes, Interest and Charitable Donations.  If the total of all Itemized Deductions exceeds your Standard Deduction, then it would be beneficial to use the Itemized Deductions instead. 

For the 2022 tax year, the standard deduction is $25,900 for joint filers, $19,400 for heads of household, and $12,950 for single filers and those married filing separately.  

[NancyM5]

Medical expenses can be deducted on Schedule A - Itemized Deductions.  However, there are two hurdles you'll need to pass in order to deduct these expenses:

1. Do you have enough other itemizable expenses or will the standard deduction be greater?
2. Only those medical costs exceeding 7.5% of your Adjusted Gross Income are deductible

Itemized deductions include:

• Mortgage interest you pay, on up to two homes
• State and local income or sales tax
• Property taxes
• Charitable donations
• Medical and dental expenses

If you add up your expenses in these (above) categories you can compare them to the standard deduction for 2022 which is as follows:

• $12,950 for single taxpayers and married taxpayers who file separate returns
• $19,400 for heads of households
• $25,900 for married taxpayers filing a joint return

Please take a look at the section "Medical expense deductions checklist" in The Ultimate Medical Expense Deductions Checklist .  This is a great checklist that will help you capture all of your medical expense.  Be sure to add the cost of your medical insurance for the month of January.  Once you have a list of all of your medical expenses you'll need to subtract 7.5% of your estimated adjusted gross income (How to Figure Out Adjusted Gross Income) and compare the result to the standard deduction above.

I hope this gives you enough information to determine if you'll be able to deduct your medical expenses.  But more importantly, I hope that your health has improved.