Hi friends I'm Laura Adams and you're listening to the Money Girl

Podcast. I want to thank iTunes for featuring this special three-part series about tax

deduction dangers and give a big welcome to new listeners who may have just

discovered the show.

In the first installment, I told you about the mortgage interest deduction

and some common mistakes that can trip up homeowners.

In the second installment, I told you how to deduct your job-related expenses, and a few exceptions

and dangers to avoid.

In this final installment, we'll be talking about how your medical and dental expenses can lower your tax bill, which expenses are deductible, and how to claim them.

What may surprise you about the medical and dental tax deduction is the wide variety of

expenses allowed by the IRS.

I won't have time to cover every one of them in this podcast, so I recommend that you take a look at the complete

list of deductions which is in IRS publication 502 so you don't miss any

money-saving deductions that might apply to your situation.

Before we get into specific expenses, it's important to know that qualified medical expenses are defined as payments for the diagnosis, cure, mitigation, treatment, or prevention of disease, or treatments affecting any structure or function of the body.

When you pay for medical and dental care for yourself, your

spouse, or your dependents, you're entitled to deduct the amount that exceeds

7.5% of your adjusted gross income or AGI.

Let's say you have AGI of $50,000 in 2012

and you spend $4,000 on qualified medical expenses.

When you multiply 50,000 by 7.5%,

you find that you'd need a minimum of $3,750 in total medical expenses to qualify for this deduction.

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