# Taxes, medical deductions, and fiscal years

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/taxes-medical-deductions-and-fiscal-years/646968>\
**Category:** In My Humble Opinion\
**Created:** [January 12, 2013, 4:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/taxes-medical-deductions-and-fiscal-years/646968 "2013-01-12T16:06:40Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 3\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![Mama\_Zappa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/71e660/32.png) [@Mama\_Zappa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mama_Zappa)\
**Post date:** [January 12, 2013, 4:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/taxes-medical-deductions-and-fiscal-years/646968/1 "2013-01-12T16:06:40Z")

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So for medical deductions, you can’t deduct something that has been reimbursed by insurance.

What about when reimbursement happens in a different year?

I haven’t had any luck finding anything explicit about the “different years” scenario.

Two specific examples: Scenario 1: For a dental expense in 2011, insurance paid in 2012.

Scenario 2: Dental services in 2012, insurance filed in 2012, but didn’t pay until 2013.

Either I go by when the payments were made (in which case, scenario 1 reduces our expenses a little in 2012 and a lot in 2013) or when the services were incurred (and paid by us) (in which case it reduces them a little in 2011 and a lot in 2012).

If anyone has any cites for how this should be treated, I’d be very grateful.

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**Author:** ![hajario](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hajario/32/171_2.png) [@hajario](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hajario)\
**Post date:** [January 12, 2013, 4:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/taxes-medical-deductions-and-fiscal-years/646968/2 "2013-01-12T16:08:53Z")

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If you were reimbursed it can’t be used as a write off.

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**Author:** ![Mama\_Zappa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/71e660/32.png) [@Mama\_Zappa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mama_Zappa)\
**Post date:** [January 12, 2013, 5:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/taxes-medical-deductions-and-fiscal-years/646968/3 "2013-01-12T17:04:58Z")

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> [@hajario](#):
>
> If you were reimbursed it can’t be used as a write off.

Right - I’m just thinking about if the reimbursement happens long after the expense, conceivably even after taxes have been filed.

I did finally come up with the right google-fu and it looks like I could… but would then have to take the reimbursement as income to the extent I wrote it off.

From h[ere](http://www.irs.gov/publications/p17/ch21.html)

> [@IRS](#):
>
> Reimbursement in a later year. If you are reimbursed in a later year for medical expenses you deducted in an earlier year, you generally must report the reimbursement as income up to the amount you previously deducted as medical expenses

.

By which, I gather if I were to deduct 2,000 in expenses, and later got 3,000 in reimbursement (the other 1,000 being part of the “less than 7.5% AGI”), I’d have to record 2,000 of income.

So all in all, I’m pretty sure we’re not going to try to deduct; the one reimbursement is the one that makes the difference (without it we’re under 7.5%).