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Let’s Talk Taxes with Dr. Annalee Fencl of Northeast Iowa Pediatric Dentistry
Although we’d much rather be talking about your kiddo’s happy smiles, we thought that with this month’s tax filing deadline we’d go over some dental related tax deductions and information to help you track your 2018 expenditures. After all, we don’t just want to make our patients the happiest kids in Iowa, but also you parents!
We want to be clear from the beginning that Dr. Fencl is a dentist, not an accountant! The information in this blog post was taken from the IRS website, and is not meant to take the place of accounting services. Please double-check everything with a tax professional.
If you’re going to deduct dental or medical expenses, they must be itemized. If you take a standard deduction, you cannot also deduct dental and medical expenses.
Deductions are limited to expenses paid that exceed 10% (ten) percent of your adjusted gross income.
You can deduct expenses paid in 2017 even if the expenses were incurred in another year.
You may include most of the dental expenses for yourself, your spouse and your dependents.
You can normally include the costs to treat, prevent, ease, and diagnose dental i
ssues. Prescriptions are included, and the expense of dental insurance is deductible.
Transportation cost can also be deducted. That includes public transportation, parking fees, tolls, and mileage. The 2017 rate is $0.17/mile.
Money from Health Savings Accounts or Flexible Spending Arrangements are usually tax-free, so you cannot deduct funds used to pay for dental services from those accounts.
We know what it feels like to wait until it’s time to file your taxes to look back at the year to try and remember deductions. It’s so overwhelming! Taking time each month to review your accounts, and log expenses really pays off (pun intended) when it’s time to visit with your accountant. There are so many great spreadsheet and download resources on pinterest to help you stay on top of things. Search ‘dental expense spreadsheet’ to find your favorite.
