Common questions about Schedule A medical deductions in Lacerte

Enter the insurance premiums paid for medical and dental care, including the supplemental part of Medicare insurance (Medicare B), and premiums paid for Medicare Part D insurance. Refer to the paragraph below on the deductibility of premiums for certain non-dependents.

Insurance Premiums of Certain Non-Dependents

You may have a medical or dental insurance policy that also covers an individual who's not your dependent (for example, a dependent child under age 27). You can't deduct any premiums attributable to this individual, unless they are:

• A child who you don't claim as a dependent because of the rules for children of divorced or separated parents
• Any person you could've claimed as a dependent on your return except that person received too much gross income or filed a joint return
• Or any person you could've claimed as a dependent except that you, or your spouse if filing jointly, can be claimed as a dependent on someone else’s return. However, if you had family coverage when you added this individual to your policy and the premiums didn't increase, you can deduct the full amount of the premiums.

If you have entries in Self-Employed Health Insurance input fields on Screen 24, Adjustments to Income, the amount that's not deductible on Form 1040 is carried to the Schedule A.

The maximum amount of long-term care premiums you can deduct is based on the age (at the end of the tax year) of the person for whom you paid the premiums.

The total of long-term care premiums you deduct on Schedule A and the amount of those premiums included in the self-employed health insurance deduction can't exceed the maximum amount.

The maximum amount is indexed to the inflation rate and therefore varies from year to year. Refer to the Schedule A instructions for more information. 

The amount you enter in this field is combined with any excess long-term care premiums entered in Screen 24, Adjustments, codes 26 and 84 (76 and 34 if spouse) not utilized in the self-employed health insurance deduction due to income limitations.

The total is limited to the maximum shown in the chart, less any long-term premiums included in the self-employed insurance deduction. The limited amount is carried to Schedule A.