You can deduct only the part of your medical and dental expenses that exceeds 7.5% of the amount on Form 1040, line 38.

Pub. 502 discusses the types of expenses that you can and cannot deduct. It also explains when you can deduct capital expenses and special care expenses for disabled persons.

To the extent you were not reimbursed, you can deduct what you paid for:

• Insurance premiums for medical and dental care, including premiums for qualified long-term care contracts as defined in Pub. 502. But see on page A-2. Reduce the insurance premiums by any self-employed health insurance deduction you claimed on Form 1040, line 29. You cannot deduct insurance premiums paid with pretax dollars because the premiums are not included in box 1 of your Form(s) W-2. If you are a retired public safety officer, you cannot deduct any premiums you paid to the extent they were paid for with a tax-free distribution from your retirement plan.

• Prescription medicines or insulin.
• Acupuncturists, chiropractors, dentists, eye doctors, medical doctors, occupational therapists, osteopathic doctors, physical therapists, podiatrists, psychiatrists, psychoanalysts (medical care only), and psychologists.
• Medical examinations, X-ray and laboratory services, insulin treatment, and whirlpool baths your doctor ordered.
• Diagnostic tests, such as a full-body scan, pregnancy test, or blood sugar test kit.
• Nursing help (including your share of the employment taxes paid). If you paid someone to do both nursing and housework, you can deduct only the cost of the nursing help.
• Hospital care (including meals and lodging), clinic costs, and lab fees.
• Qualified long-term care services (see Pub. 502).
• The supplemental part of Medicare insurance (Medicare B).
• The premiums you pay for Medicare Part D insurance.
• A program to stop smoking and for prescription medicines to alleviate nicotine withdrawal.
• A weight-loss program as treatment for a specific disease (including obesity) diagnosed by a doctor.
• Medical treatment at a center for drug or alcohol addiction.
• Medical aids such as eyeglasses, contact lenses, hearing aids, braces, crutches, wheelchairs, and guide dogs, including the cost of maintaining them.
• Surgery to improve defective vision, such as laser eye surgery or radial keratotomy.
• Lodging expenses (but not meals) while away from home to receive medical care in a hospital or a medical care facility related to a hospital, provided there was no significant element of personal pleasure, recreation, or vacation in the travel. Do not deduct more than $50 a night for each eligible person.
• Ambulance service and other travel costs to get medical care. If you used your own car, you can claim what you spent for gas and oil to go to and from the place you received the care; or you can claim 19 cents a mile (27 cents a mile after June 30, 2008). Add parking and tolls to the amount you claim under either method.

The amount you can deduct for qualified long-term care contracts (as defined in Pub. 502) depends on the age, at the end of 2008, of the person for whom the premiums were paid. See the chart below for details.

IF the person was, at the end of 2008, age . . .	THEN the most you can deduct is . . .
40 or under	$ 310
41–50	$ 580
51–60	$ 1,150
61–70	$ 3,080
71 or older	$ 3,850

• The cost of diet food.
• Cosmetic surgery unless it was necessary to improve a deformity related to a congenital abnormality, an injury from an accident or trauma, or a disfiguring disease.
• Life insurance or income protection policies.
• The Medicare tax on your wages and tips or the Medicare tax paid as part of the self-employment tax or household employment taxes.

• If you were age 65 or older but not entitled to social security benefits, you can deduct premiums you voluntarily paid for Medicare A coverage.

• Nursing care for a healthy baby. But you may be able to take a credit for the amount you paid. See the instructions for Form 1040, line 48.
• Illegal operations or drugs.
• Imported drugs not approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). This includes foreign-made versions of U.S.-approved drugs manufactured without FDA approval.
• Nonprescription medicines (including nicotine gum and certain nicotine patches).
• Travel your doctor told you to take for rest or a change.
• Funeral, burial, or cremation costs.

Enter the total of your medical and dental expenses (see page A-1), after you reduce these expenses by any payments received from insurance or other sources. See Reimbursements on this page.

You can include medical and dental bills you paid 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 do not claim as a dependent because of the rules for children of divorced or separated parents.
• Any person you could have claimed as a dependent on your return except that person received $3,500 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 2008 return.

You provided over half of your mother's support but cannot claim her as a dependent because she received wages of $3,500 in 2008. You can include on line 1 any medical and dental expenses you paid in 2008 for your mother.

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 2008 for medical or dental expenses you paid in 2008, reduce your 2008 expenses by this amount. If you received a reimbursement in 2008 for prior year medical or dental expenses, do not reduce your 2008 expenses by this amount. But if you deducted the expenses in the earlier year and the deduction reduced your tax, you must include the reimbursement in income on Form 1040, line 21. See Pub. 502 for details on how to figure the amount to include.

Do not 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, do not 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.