Can I claim prior-year medical expenses?

Yes, you can claim any eligible medical expenses if they occurred in a 12-month period that ends in the current tax year. After you enter your medical expenses, TurboTax will prompt you to choose your 12-month claim period.

For example, the oldest medical expense that you can claim on your 2024 return is an expense from January 2, 2022, using a claim period of January 2, 2022, to January 1, 2023.

Keep in mind that the expenses you get credit for in any 12-month period are reduced under the medical expense tax credit rules. For a 2024 tax return, the reduction is the lesser of $2,635 and 3% of your net income.

If you've had heavy medical expenses in the latter part of the 2022 tax year, and also have heavy expenses early on in 2024, it’s better to hold on to the 2022 expenses and combine them with the expenses from the early part of 2024 and claim them on the 2024 return.

For example, if most of your medical expenses occurred after May 15, 2022, on your 2024 return you can use a 12-month period of May 15, 2022, to May 14, 2023, and claim all expenses that fall within that period. Even though the expenses fall in two different tax years, if they are in the same 12-month period you have chosen, the $2,365 or 3% reduction will be applied only once.

You can use a different 12-month period each year. The period doesn’t have to start where your previous 12-month period ended. You can't claim the same expenses more than once.

What qualifies as a medical expense?