Medical and Dental Expenses
In theory, you can deduct the amount of medical and dental expenses
you had during the year that were not reimbursed by insurance. You
can also deduct the amount of health insurance premiums you paid out
of pocket - that is, not including amounts paid by your employer,
or paid with pre-tax dollars through withholding from your paycheck.
However,
in reality, your medical and dental expense deduction is extremely
limited because only the portion that exceeds 10 percent in 2014 (7.5
percent if the taxpayer or spouse is over age 65) of your adjusted
gross income (as shown on Line 37 of your Form 1040) is deductible.
For that reason, generally only those with severe, chronic or catastrophic
medical problems or those who must pay for their own health insurance
will benefit from this deduction.
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Save Money For self-employed people, 100 percent
of health insurance premiums for themselves, their spouse, and dependents,
as well as an eligible amount of long-term care premiums are deductible
directly on the front of Form 1040 (Line 29), rather than on Schedule
A. You're eligible to claim this deduction for any months that you
were not covered or eligible to be covered under an employer's plan
for yourself or your spouse. This is great news since self-employed
people could only directly deduct a portion of their premiums in prior
years. |
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For more details on the medical expense deduction:
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