Can I deduct medical expenses on my taxes if my parents actually paid them?

The IRS has specific rules about this. Medical expenses can only be deducted by the person who actually paid them. Since your parents paid these expenses, you can't claim them on your tax return - they would need to claim them on theirs. However, there's a catch - for your parents to deduct these expenses, they would need to: 1) itemize deductions rather than take the standard deduction, and 2) only the portion of medical expenses that exceeds 7.5% of their adjusted gross income (AGI) would be deductible. If your parents have a high income, they might not benefit much from this deduction. Since you mentioned your income is low this year, it's worth exploring if they could gift you the money and then you pay the medical bills directly, which would potentially allow you to claim the deduction.

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An important thing to consider here is whether your parents claimed you as a qualifying relative (not dependent) for medical expense purposes. This is different from claiming you as a dependent. If your parents paid your medical expenses and you're a qualifying relative under IRS rules, they can potentially include those expenses for their medical deduction calculation. The qualifying relative rules for medical expenses are a bit different than for dependency exemptions. Worth looking into if your parents have other medical expenses that would put them over the 7.5% AGI threshold.

Has anyone in this situation tried to coordinate with their parents to bunch medical expenses into one tax year? My mom and I are trying to plan some expensive procedures and figuring out if we should schedule everything in December or January.

This is a tricky situation that I've seen come up a lot. Since your parents paid the medical expenses directly, they're the ones who can claim the deduction - not you. The IRS is very clear that medical expenses can only be deducted by the person who actually made the payment, regardless of whose name is on the bill. However, there might be a silver lining here. If your parents provided more than half of your support for the year (which sounds possible given your work situation and the fact they paid $14,000 in medical bills), you could be considered their "qualifying relative" for medical expense purposes. This would allow them to include the medical expenses they paid for you when calculating their medical deduction. For future expenses, consider having your parents gift you the money first, then you pay the medical providers directly. This way you'd be able to claim the deduction on your return. Just make sure to document everything properly and keep records of who actually made each payment. Given your low income this year, it's definitely worth having your parents check if they can benefit from the medical expense deduction, especially if they have other medical costs that might push them over the 7.5% AGI threshold.