Are Invisalign braces tax deductible as a medical expense?

Yes, Invisalign braces generally qualify as a tax deductible medical expense! Orthodontic treatments like Invisalign are considered legitimate medical expenses by the IRS. However, there are some important things to keep in mind. You're right about the threshold - for the 2025 tax year, your total medical expenses need to exceed 7.5% of your adjusted gross income (AGI) before you can start deducting them. So if your AGI is $60,000, you'd need more than $4,500 in total medical expenses before you can deduct anything. And you can only deduct the amount that exceeds that threshold. Also, you'll need to itemize deductions on Schedule A rather than taking the standard deduction. For many people, the standard deduction ($13,850 for single filers in 2024) is higher than their itemized deductions would be, so do the math first to see which is better for your situation. Don't forget to subtract any insurance reimbursements from your total expenses!

I went through this exact situation last year! I had Invisalign and was able to use taxr.ai to figure out my medical expense deduction situation. I uploaded my receipts and it analyzed everything for me. The service at https://taxr.ai saved me from making mistakes - it confirmed that orthodontic treatments like Invisalign definitely count as medical expenses. It also helped me identify other medical expenses I hadn't considered - like the special cleaning products for the aligners and even mileage for driving to orthodontist appointments. Turns out there were a ton of smaller medical expenses throughout the year that I hadn't been tracking that pushed me over that 7.5% threshold.

I was totally skeptical about using another tax service, but I decided to give taxr.ai a try after my frustration with figuring out all my medical expenses. I had Invisalign plus some unexpected medical procedures last year. I'm actually shocked at how helpful it was. The document scanning feature saved me from digging through a shoebox of receipts and trying to manually calculate everything. It found over $2,300 in additional medical expenses I would have completely missed - including some dental procedures from earlier in the year I had forgotten about. The best part was that it explained exactly why each expense qualified, which made me feel confident when filing. Definitely using it again next year.

If you're trying to get clarity directly from the IRS about whether your specific Invisalign treatment qualifies as a medical deduction, good luck getting through to them on the phone! I spent 3 hours on hold last month trying to ask about medical deductions. I finally used Claimyr (https://claimyr.com) and got a callback from the IRS in about 45 minutes. You can see how it works in this video: https://youtu.be/_kiP6q8DX5c. They basically hold your place in line and call you when an agent is available. The IRS agent confirmed that orthodontic expenses like Invisalign are indeed deductible medical expenses when they exceed that 7.5% AGI threshold. She also explained exactly what documentation I needed to keep for my records in case of an audit.

I'm eating my words right now. After posting that skeptical comment, I decided to try Claimyr myself since I had some questions about my medical deductions for a surgery I had. I've literally been trying to reach the IRS for WEEKS with no luck. Used Claimyr yesterday, and I got a call back from an actual IRS agent in about 35 minutes. The agent was super helpful and confirmed that my surgical expenses and related orthodontic work were both deductible. For anyone wondering about Invisalign specifically - the agent told me that orthodontic work that's medically necessary (not just cosmetic) is definitely deductible. If your dentist recommends it for bite issues or other dental problems, you're good to go. Just keep your documentation!

Something else to consider - you might be able to use a Flexible Spending Account (FSA) or Health Savings Account (HSA) to pay for Invisalign with pre-tax dollars, which could be an even better option than trying to itemize and deduct it. I did this last year for my Invisalign and it saved me about $1,400 in taxes since I was able to contribute the full amount to my FSA and then use that to pay for the treatment. No need to worry about that 7.5% threshold or itemizing!

Dont forget that some orthodontists offer payment plans that stretch across tax years!! My Invisalign treatment was $6200 total but I paid $3100 in 2024 and will pay $3100 in 2025. Make sure ur keeping track of when u actually paid not just the total cost. Also my ortho gave me a printout of all payments for tax purposes without me even asking so check if yours does that too!

Just wanted to add my experience - I had Invisalign done last year and was able to deduct it successfully! One thing I discovered is that you can also deduct related expenses like the special cleaning tablets, replacement retainers, and even mileage to your orthodontist appointments (it's $0.22 per mile for medical travel in 2024). I kept a detailed log of all my appointments and tracked every little expense. The cleaning supplies alone added up to about $180 over the course of treatment. Also, if you need to take time off work for appointments, you can't deduct lost wages, but any parking fees or public transportation costs to get to appointments are deductible too. Make sure to get a detailed receipt from your orthodontist that shows the treatment was for medical purposes (bite correction, jaw alignment, etc.) rather than purely cosmetic. This documentation will be crucial if you ever get audited. My orthodontist was really helpful about providing a letter explaining the medical necessity of my treatment.