Can You Deduct Dental Bills From Your Taxes?
Tax deductions are ways to reduce your taxable income. Dental bills are lumped together in the same category as medical expenses for the purposes of itemized tax deductions. If you chose to claim this deduction, you must itemize your deductions and are ineligible to take the standard deduction.
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Function
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The medical and dental deduction is determined by adding all of your qualified medical expenses. If the expenses exceed 7.5 percent of your adjusted gross income, you can claim the amount that exceeds that threshold. For example, if your adjusted gross income was $36,000 and your medical expenses were $4,000, your deduction would be $1,300 (36,000 times 7.5 percent equals 2,700, then 4,000 minus 2,700 equals 1,300).
Features
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There are a number of dental expenses that can qualify for the dental bills deduction. To be deductible, the expense must be for the prevention, diagnosis or treatment of an ailment. If you pay for your own dental insurance premiums, you can also deduct those costs. You can also deduct a standard mileage rate for the number of miles that you drove to get to dental care. For 2010, the rate is 16.5 cents per mile, and 19 cents per mile for 2011.
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Considerations
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If you claim the medical and dental expenses deduction, you must itemize your deductions. To itemize your deductions you need to file using Form 1040 and complete a Schedule A. If you itemize, you cannot claim the standard deduction, so you should only claim the medical and dental expenses deduction if the sum of all of your itemized deductions exceeds your standard deduction. Other itemized deductions that you can also take include gifts to charity and mortgage interest. For 2009, the standard deduction is $5,700 for singles and married individuals who file separate returns, $8,400 for heads of household and $11,400 for those who are married filing jointly.
State Taxes
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Most states that have income taxes and the District of Columbia have deductions for medical and dental expenses. Several states calculate the deduction in the same way that the federal government does. The differences between the federal deduction and the states who use independent calculation methods are most often the use of state income rather than federal income for calculating your adjusted gross income or allowing a greater deduction.
Misconceptions
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Not all dental expenses count toward your tax deductions. Cosmetic procedures like teeth whitening are not eligible because it is a cosmetic procedure that does not treat an ailment. If you take non-prescription medication like painkillers or use dental products like toothpaste or floss, you cannot deduct the expenses for them. You also can not deduct any expenses that are covered by your insurance policy.
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