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IRS medical expense deduction calculator

Estimate how much of the cost of home changes, such as a ramp or grab bars, you can deduct as a medical expense on a US federal tax return. See what it may save you in tax.

This calculator is a planning tool. It gives an estimate, not tax advice. It simulates the rules in a simple way, so your actual deduction and tax may be different. Only costs that meet the IRS rules count, and the deduction helps only if you itemize. For your real numbers, ask an accountant or other tax professional. Figures last checked October 13, 2026.

Which tax year?

Count costs in the year you pay them. A credit card charge counts in the year of the charge.

Which of these apply at the end of the year?

You count as 65 or older if you were born before January 2, 1962. Publication 501 explains who counts as blind for tax purposes [3].

Your total income minus certain adjustments, before the standard or itemized deduction. It's line 11a of a 2025 Form 1040 [10]. For 2026, use your best estimate.

What you pay for changes made mainly for medical care, such as a ramp, grab bars or wider doorways. Leave out any part paid by insurance, a grant or someone else.

Changes made for a disability usually don't raise a home's value, so this is often $0. An elevator generally does. The IRS works it out as the home's value just after the work minus its value just before.

Costs that insurance or anyone else didn't pay, such as Medicare Part B and Part D premiums, prescription medicines, dental care, glasses and hearing aids.

Such as state and local taxes, home mortgage interest and gifts to charity, at the amounts you can claim on Schedule A. Leave it blank if you have none.

Your estimate

Enter your adjusted gross income and the cost of the home changes to see the estimate.

How this is calculated

  • Home changes count as medical expenses when their main purpose is medical care for you, your spouse or your dependent. If a change raises your home's value, only the part of the cost above that rise counts. If it doesn't raise the value, the whole cost counts [1].
  • Other medical costs include insurance premiums you pay yourself, such as Medicare Part B and Part D premiums. Costs paid by insurance or another source don't count [1].
  • You can deduct only the part of your medical and dental costs above 7.5% of your adjusted gross income, and only if you itemize deductions on Schedule A [1] [2].
  • Itemizing lowers your tax only when your itemized deductions add up to more than your standard deduction [3]. The calculator compares the two, with and without the home changes, using the amounts in the table below [3] [4] [5].
  • To estimate the tax saving, it works out your taxable income both ways and applies the federal tax brackets for the year [4] [6].
  • For 2025 to 2028, people 65 or older also get a senior deduction of up to $6,000 each, whether or not they itemize. It shrinks by 6% of income over $75,000, or over $150,000 on a joint return, and married people must file jointly to claim it [3] [7] [8]. The IRS measures that income as modified adjusted gross income: your adjusted gross income plus certain income from abroad, Puerto Rico or American Samoa that you excluded [8]. The calculator uses your adjusted gross income.
Standard deductions used by the calculator
Filing status20252026
Single $15,750$16,100
Married filing jointly $31,500$32,200
Married filing separately $15,750$16,100
Head of household $23,625$24,150
Qualifying surviving spouse $31,500$32,200
Extra amount: single or head of household $2,000$2,050
Extra amount: married or qualifying surviving spouse $1,600$1,650

The extra amount is added once for each person on the return who is 65 or older, and once more for each person who is blind. On a joint return, both spouses count [3] [4]. You count as 65 on the day before your 65th birthday. So for 2025, that's anyone born before January 2, 1961 [3], and for 2026, anyone born before January 2, 1962. The 2025 amounts are from Publication 501 [3], and the 2026 amounts from the IRS's inflation adjustments for 2026 [4] [5].

What the calculator leaves out

  • State income tax, tax credits, and the lower tax rates on capital gains and qualified dividends.
  • For 2026, people who take the standard deduction can also deduct up to $1,000 of cash gifts to charity, or $2,000 on a joint return [9].
  • From 2026, a limit on the tax benefit of itemized deductions for people in the top 37% tax bracket [5].
  • If you're married filing separately and your spouse itemizes, your standard deduction is $0. If someone else can claim you as a dependent, your standard deduction may be smaller [3].
  • The senior deduction also needs a Social Security number that's valid for work [3].

Which home changes count

The IRS says changes that fit a home to a disability usually don't raise its value, so their full cost can count. Its examples include [1]:

  • ramps, and wider doorways at entrances and exits
  • wider or changed hallways and inside doorways
  • railings, support bars and other changes to bathrooms
  • handrails or grab bars anywhere in the home
  • lower or changed kitchen cabinets and equipment
  • moved or changed electrical outlets and fixtures
  • porch lifts and other lifts, though elevators generally add value to a home
  • changes to stairways, door hardware, and fire alarms, smoke detectors and other warning systems
  • changes to the areas in front of entrance and exit doors, and grading the ground so the home can be reached

Only reasonable costs count. Extra costs for looks or style don't [1]. Running and upkeep costs for something you installed also count when their main reason is medical care, even if none of its original cost counted [1]. If you rent, the cost of buying and installing special plumbing fixtures for a person with a disability, mainly for medical reasons, counts too [1].

Some programs pay for this kind of work. Our guide to home modification grants and help in the US covers Medicare, Medicaid, the VA and USDA. If a program pays part of the cost, leave that part out above. Our guides to grab bar height and placement and to safer stairs explain two of these changes.

Who can claim, and when

  • You can include costs you pay for yourself, your spouse or your dependent [1].
  • A parent can count as your dependent for this deduction if you provide more than half of their support for the year and they meet the IRS's other tests. Their income doesn't rule this out [1]. If you pay for changes to a home you don't own or live in, ask a tax professional how the rules apply.
  • Count costs in the year you pay them. If you pay by credit card, that's the year of the charge, not the year you pay the card bill [1].
  • Keep receipts and records to support the deduction. Don't send them with a paper return [1].

Sources

  1. Publication 502 (2025), Medical and Dental Expenses. Internal Revenue Service. Accessed October 13, 2026.
  2. Topic no. 502, Medical and dental expenses. Internal Revenue Service. Accessed October 13, 2026.
  3. Publication 501 (2025), Dependents, Standard Deduction, and Filing Information. Internal Revenue Service. Accessed October 13, 2026.
  4. Revenue Procedure 2025-32: inflation adjustments for tax year 2026. Internal Revenue Service. Accessed October 13, 2026.
  5. IRS releases tax inflation adjustments for tax year 2026 (IR-2025-103). Internal Revenue Service. Accessed October 13, 2026.
  6. Federal income tax rates and brackets. Internal Revenue Service. Accessed October 13, 2026.
  7. Check your eligibility for the new enhanced deduction for seniors. Internal Revenue Service. Accessed October 13, 2026.
  8. Schedule 1-A (Form 1040) 2025, Additional Deductions. Internal Revenue Service. Accessed October 13, 2026.
  9. Working Families Tax Cuts: tax provisions. Internal Revenue Service. Accessed October 13, 2026.
  10. Form 1040 (2025), U.S. Individual Income Tax Return. Internal Revenue Service. Accessed October 13, 2026.