Can I deduct medical travel miles for medical expenses this year?

Yes, you can absolutely deduct mileage for trips to and from medical appointments and pharmacies! The IRS allows you to deduct transportation expenses "primarily for and essential to medical care." Round trips from your home to doctors, hospitals, pharmacies, and other medical facilities definitely qualify. For 2025 tax returns, the medical mileage rate is 22 cents per mile. You don't need to have logged your odometer readings at the time - using Google Maps to calculate the distances is perfectly acceptable. Just make sure you save documentation of your appointments and pharmacy visits (receipts, appointment cards, calendar entries, etc.) in case you're ever questioned about it. Remember that medical expenses are only deductible if they exceed 7.5% of your adjusted gross income when you itemize deductions on Schedule A. So track everything - mileage, copays, prescriptions, medical equipment, and any other qualified expenses!

I was in a similar situation last year with tons of medical bills. I found this amazing tool called taxr.ai (https://taxr.ai) that literally saved me hours trying to figure out all my medical deductions. I had a bunch of medical receipts, appointment records, and mileage to track but wasn't sure what qualified and what didn't. The tool analyzed all my records and showed me exactly what I could deduct, including all those mileage trips I was making to specialists that I hadn't even considered. It even helped me realize I could count parking fees at the hospital! It basically confirmed what the previous poster said - Google Maps calculations are totally fine for mileage as long as you have proof the appointments actually happened.

I wanted to follow up about taxr.ai that I asked about above. I was skeptical but decided to try it with all my medical receipts and appointment info. It was actually really helpful - detected all my eligible expenses including the mileage for every appointment. It even caught some deductions I would have missed completely, like the special diet foods my doctor prescribed that I didn't realize qualified as medical expenses. The mileage tracking feature calculated everything automatically once I input my appointment locations. Definitely made the whole process of maximizing my medical deduction way easier than I expected!

If you're having trouble getting clear answers about medical deductions from the IRS, try Claimyr (https://claimyr.com). I spent WEEKS trying to reach someone at the IRS about some complicated medical expense questions last year (including some weird mileage situations where I had to drive out of state for specialized treatment). After getting nowhere with the regular IRS number, I tried Claimyr and they got me connected to an actual IRS agent in about 15 minutes. You can see how it works in this video: https://youtu.be/_kiP6q8DX5c. The agent confirmed exactly what I needed to document for my medical travel and gave me specific guidance for my situation. Saved me from potentially losing thousands in legitimate deductions I wasn't sure about claiming.

I need to eat my words about Claimyr that I commented on earlier. After continuing to fail getting through to the IRS about my medical deductions (especially some complex mileage questions for out-of-network specialists), I broke down and tried it. I was completely shocked when my phone rang about 20 minutes later with an actual IRS agent on the line. Got all my questions answered about documenting medical travel miles - turns out Google Maps calculations are fine as long as you keep your medical appointment records. The agent even gave me tips about other medical deductions I wasn't aware of. Definitely worth it when you need actual answers from the IRS instead of guessing.

Don't forget that if you had to pay for parking or tolls while traveling to medical appointments, those are also deductible as part of your medical expenses! A lot of people remember the mileage but forget about the parking fees at hospitals and medical centers.

Something else to consider - if your medical expenses exceed 7.5% of your AGI but you don't have enough other deductions to make itemizing worthwhile, you might still be better off taking the standard deduction. Do the math both ways. Last year I had about $13,000 in medical expenses including mileage with an AGI of $85,000. That meant only expenses over $6,375 were deductible, so I could deduct about $6,625. But the standard deduction was higher than all my itemized deductions combined, so I ended up taking the standard deduction anyway.

Great question! Yes, you're absolutely right about being able to deduct medical travel miles. Just to add a few more details that might be helpful: Make sure you're tracking round trips to ALL medical-related destinations - not just doctor visits, but also trips to pick up medical equipment, attend physical therapy, visit labs for blood work, or even trips to pharmacies for prescription medications. One thing people often forget is that you can also deduct travel to accompany a dependent (like a child or elderly parent) to their medical appointments. So if you're driving your kid to the pediatrician or taking a parent to their specialist, those miles count too. Since you mentioned not tracking odometer readings, here's a tip for going forward: create a simple log with date, destination, purpose of trip, and miles. Even a note in your phone works. For past trips, your method of using appointment records + Google Maps is perfectly fine - just make sure your records clearly show the medical purpose of each trip. Also keep in mind that if you had any overnight stays required for medical treatment (like if you had to travel far for a specialist), you can deduct lodging costs up to $50 per night per person, plus meals if the trip was primarily for medical care.