26 U.S.C. § 213 — Medical, dental, etc., expenses

(a) Allowance of deduction. An individual may deduct the medical-care expenses they paid during the tax year — for themselves, their spouse, or a dependent (as section 152 defines "dependent," ignoring certain sub-rules there) — as long as insurance or something else did not already cover those costs. The formula: take your total qualifying medical expenses, then subtract 7.5% of your adjusted gross income. Only the amount left over — the part that exceeds that 7.5% floor — can be deducted. (b) Limitation with respect to medicine and drugs. Money paid for medicine or a drug counts toward the deduction in (a) only if it is a prescribed drug or insulin. (c) Special rule for decedents. (1) Medical expenses for a taxpayer that get paid out of that taxpayer's estate within the one-year period after the day the taxpayer died are treated as if the taxpayer paid them at the time the care was given. (2) That rule does not apply if the same amount is also allowable as a deduction under section 2053 in computing the taxable estate — unless the estate files, within the time and in the manner the Secretary prescribes, both (A) a statement that the amount has not been deducted under section 2053, and (B) a waiver giving up the right to ever deduct it under section 2053. In short, the expense can be deducted on the income tax return or the estate tax return, but not both. (d) Definitions. (1) "Medical care" means amounts paid for: (A) diagnosing, curing, easing, treating, or preventing disease, or for affecting any structure or function of the body; (B) transportation that is primarily for, and essential to, that medical care; (C) qualified long-term care services (as section 7702B(c) defines them); or (D) insurance covering the medical care described in (A) and (B), including Medicare Part B premiums, or a qualified long-term care insurance contract. For a qualified long-term care insurance contract specifically, only "eligible long-term care premiums" (defined in paragraph (10)) count under (D). (2) Lodging away from home. Amounts paid for lodging while away from home — as long as it is not lavish or extravagant — count as medical care if (A) the medical care described in paragraph (1)(A) is provided by a physician in a licensed hospital or an equivalent facility, and (B) the travel has no significant element of personal pleasure, recreation, or vacation. The amount counted cannot exceed $50 per night per individual. (3) "Prescribed drug" means a drug or biological that legally requires a physician's prescription. (4) "Physician" has the meaning given in section 1861(r) of the Social Security Act. (5) A child covered by section 152(e) (children of divorced parents) is treated as a dependent of both parents for this section. (6) If an insurance contract pays for things beyond the medical care described in (1)(A)-(C), then: (A) no amount counts as paid for insurance under (1)(D) unless the medical-care charge is separately stated in the contract or given to the policyholder in a separate statement; (B) the amount counted cannot exceed that separately stated charge; and (C) nothing counts if that stated charge is unreasonably large compared to the contract's total charges. (7) Premiums paid before age 65 for insurance that only covers the taxpayer, spouse, or dependent after the taxpayer turns 65 still count as medical-care expenses paid that year — but only if the premiums are paid on a level basis over at least 10 years, or until the year the taxpayer turns 65, whichever period is shorter, with a 5-year minimum. (8) Whether someone is married during the tax year is determined the same way as under section 6013(d). (9) Cosmetic surgery. (A) "Medical care" does not include cosmetic surgery or similar procedures, unless the surgery corrects a deformity from a congenital abnormality, a personal injury from an accident or trauma, or a disfiguring disease. (B) "Cosmetic surgery" means any procedure aimed at improving the patient's appearance that does not meaningfully help the body function properly or prevent or treat illness or disease. (10) Eligible long-term care premiums. (A) This is the part of a year's premium for a qualified long-term care insurance contract that counts as medical care, up to a dollar cap based on the insured person's age by the end of the tax year: $200 for age 40 or under; $375 for over 40 through 50; $750 for over 50 through 60; $2,000 for over 60 through 70; and $2,500 for over 70. (B) These dollar caps increase each year after 1997, based on a "medical care cost adjustment" tied to the medical-care component of a specified government price index, rounded to the nearest $10; the Secretary, in consultation with the Secretary of Health and Human Services, may substitute a different adjustment method found to be more appropriate. (11) Payments to relatives. An amount paid for a qualified long-term care service does not count as medical care if (A) a spouse or relative provides the service — directly or through a business entity — unless that relative is a licensed professional providing the service, or (B) a related corporation or partnership provides it. "Relative" here means the family relationships listed in section 152(d)(2)(A) through (G). This rule does not apply to insurance reimbursements addressed under section 105(b). (e) Exclusion of amounts allowed for care of certain dependents. Any expense already claimed as a credit under section 21 (the dependent care credit) cannot also be treated as a medical-care expense deduction under this section.