About the Medical Expense Deduction Calculator
This medical expense deduction calculator applies the IRS rule that lets you deduct unreimbursed medical and dental costs only to the extent they exceed 7.5% of your adjusted gross income (AGI). Enter your AGI, what you paid for care during the year, any insurance or other reimbursements, and your other itemized deductions, and it shows the deductible amount, whether itemizing beats the standard deduction, and roughly how much federal tax the deduction saves.
It is useful in years with large bills — surgery, long-term or nursing-home care, fertility treatment, dental work or a new hearing aid — and for families deciding whether to bunch elective care into one tax year. Because the deduction only counts if you itemize on Schedule A, the calculator compares your total itemized deductions with the 2026 standard deduction ($16,100 single, $32,200 married filing jointly, $24,150 head of household), including the extra amount for taxpayers aged 65 or older.
Figures are for tax year 2026 (filed in 2027) using IRS Revenue Procedure 2025-32. The tax saving is estimated with the regular federal brackets and treats all income as ordinary income; it ignores state taxes, the separate senior deduction and credits. Enter your other itemized deductions (state and local taxes after the SALT cap, mortgage interest, charitable gifts) as one total.
With the default inputs, the deductible medical expenses is $3,375.00. Change any value above to recalculate instantly.
How to use the medical expense deduction calculator
- 1Choose your filing status and enter your adjusted gross income.
- 2Add up medical and dental costs you paid this year, including after-tax insurance premiums.
- 3Enter amounts reimbursed by insurance or paid from an HSA or FSA.
- 4Enter your other itemized deductions and how many people on the return are 65 or older.
- 5Check the deductible amount, whether to itemize and your estimated tax saving.
Formula and method
Under IRC §213 you can deduct unreimbursed medical care costs only to the extent they exceed 7.5% of AGI. The deductible amount is added to your other itemized deductions on Schedule A, and you benefit only if that total is larger than your standard deduction (2026: $16,100 single or married filing separately, $32,200 joint, $24,150 head of household, plus $2,050 for an unmarried filer aged 65+ or $1,650 per married spouse aged 65+).
The tax saving is the difference between federal income tax on AGI minus the larger of the standard deduction and your other itemized deductions, and tax on AGI minus the larger of the standard deduction and your itemized total including medical. It uses the 2026 ordinary brackets and ignores credits, the alternative minimum tax and state income tax.
- AGI
- Adjusted gross income (Form 1040 line 11)
- Expenses
- Qualifying medical and dental costs paid during the year
- Reimbursements
- Insurance, HSA/FSA or employer payments for those costs
Worked examples
Single, $75,000 AGI, $9,000 of bills
The threshold is 7.5% × $75,000 = $5,625, so $3,375 of the $9,000 is deductible. Added to $12,000 of other itemized deductions that is $15,375 — still below the $16,100 standard deduction, so there is no tax saving. About $9,725 of medical costs would be needed before itemizing wins.
Married couple, $100,000 AGI, $25,000 of costs
Unreimbursed costs are $23,000; after the $7,500 threshold $15,500 is deductible. Itemized deductions total $39,500 versus a $32,200 standard deduction, cutting taxable income by $7,300. In the 12% bracket that saves $876 of federal tax.
Retiree aged 65+, nursing-home costs
With a $50,000 AGI the floor is $3,750, so $16,250 of the $20,000 is deductible. The standard deduction for a single filer aged 65+ is $16,100 + $2,050 = $18,150; itemizing gives $19,250, an extra $1,100 of deductions worth $132 at 12%.
Frequently asked questions
What is the medical expense deduction threshold for 2026?+
You can deduct only the part of your unreimbursed medical and dental expenses that exceeds 7.5% of your adjusted gross income. The 7.5% floor is permanent law, so it applies for 2025 and 2026 alike.
Do I have to itemize to deduct medical expenses?+
Yes. Medical expenses go on Schedule A, so they only help if your total itemized deductions — medical above the floor plus state and local taxes, mortgage interest and charitable gifts — exceed your standard deduction.
What medical expenses are deductible?+
Payments to doctors, dentists and hospitals, prescription drugs, insulin, glasses and hearing aids, qualified long-term care, health insurance premiums paid with after-tax money and mileage to medical appointments generally qualify. Cosmetic surgery, gym memberships and over-the-counter vitamins generally do not. See IRS Publication 502.
Can I deduct health insurance premiums?+
Premiums you pay with after-tax dollars count as medical expenses. Premiums paid through an employer’s pre-tax plan or deducted as self-employed health insurance cannot be counted again on Schedule A.
Can I deduct expenses paid from an HSA or FSA?+
No. HSA and FSA money is already tax-free, so expenses paid with it — or reimbursed by insurance — cannot also be claimed as an itemized deduction.
Whose medical expenses can I include?+
You can include expenses you paid for yourself, your spouse and your dependents, and in many cases for a person you could have claimed as a dependent except for their income or a joint return.
Tax results are estimates based on published rules and simplified assumptions. They are not tax advice — check official guidance or a tax professional for your situation.