Medical and Dental Expenses

Enter the total of your medical and dental expenses after you reduce these expenses by any payments received from insurance or other sources. See Reimbursements , later.

If advance payments of the premium tax credit were made or you think you may be eligible to claim a premium tax credit, fill out Form 8962 before filling out Schedule A, line 1. See Pub. 502 for how to figure your medical and dental expenses deduction.

Don't forget to include insurance premiums you paid for medical and dental care. However, if you claimed the self-employed health insurance deduction on Schedule 1 (Form 1040), line 17, reduce the premiums by the amount on line 17.

Whose medical and dental expenses can you include?

You can include medical and dental bills you paid in 2025 for anyone who was one of the following either when the services were provided or when you paid for them.

Yourself and your spouse.

All dependents you claim on your return.

Your child whom you don't claim as a dependent because of the rules for children of divorced or separated parents. See Child of divorced or separated parents in Pub. 502 for more information.

Any person you could have claimed as a dependent on your return except that person received $5,200 or more of gross income or filed a joint return.

Any person you could have claimed as a dependent except that you or your spouse if filing jointly can be claimed as a dependent on someone else's 2025 return.

Example.

You provided over half of your parent's support but can't claim your parent as a dependent because they received wages of $5,200 in 2025. You can include on line 1 any medical and dental expenses you paid in 2025 for your parent.

Insurance premiums for certain nondependents.

You may have a medical or dental insurance policy that also covers an individual who isn't your dependent (for example, a nondependent child under age 27). You can't deduct any premiums attributable to this individual unless this individual is a person described under Whose medical and dental expenses can you include , earlier. However, if you had family coverage when you added this individual to your policy and your premiums didn't increase, you can enter on line 1 the full amount of your medical and dental insurance premiums. See Pub. 502 for more information.

Reimbursements.

If your insurance company paid the provider directly for part of your expenses and you paid only the amount that remained, include on line 1 only the amount you paid. If you received a reimbursement in 2025 for medical or dental expenses you paid in 2025, reduce your 2025 expenses by this amount. If you received a reimbursement in 2025 for prior year medical or dental expenses, don't reduce your 2025 expenses by this amount. However, if you deducted the expenses in the earlier year and the deduction reduced your tax, you must include the reimbursement in income onSchedule 1 (Form 1040), line 8z. See Pub. 502 for details on how to figure the amount to include.

Cafeteria plans.

You can’t deduct amounts that have already been excluded from your income, so don’t include on line 1 insurance premiums paid by an employer-sponsored health insurance plan (cafeteria plan) unless the premiums are included in box 1 of your Form(s) W-2. Also, don't include any other medical and dental expenses paid by the plan unless the amount paid is included in box 1 of your Form(s) W-2.