Can I deduct my $9k dental implant expense when I only make about $22k per year?

First, I understand your frustration with dental costs - they can be brutal when insurance doesn't help! Yes, you can potentially deduct your dental implant as a medical expense, but there are some important things to know. Medical and dental expenses are only deductible if you itemize deductions on Schedule A (instead of taking the standard deduction), and only the portion that exceeds 7.5% of your Adjusted Gross Income. In your case, 7.5% of $22k would be about $1,650. So if you paid $9,000, you could potentially deduct $7,350 ($9,000 - $1,650). But here's the catch - you would only benefit from this if your total itemized deductions (medical, state/local taxes, mortgage interest, charitable contributions, etc.) exceed the standard deduction, which is $13,850 for single filers in 2024. Many people with lower incomes find the standard deduction gives them a better tax benefit than itemizing. That might be why you're getting mixed answers.

After reading through the other advice here, I wanted to share my experience. I was in a similar situation last year with unexpected dental surgery. I kept getting confused trying to figure out the deduction stuff until I tried taxr.ai (https://taxr.ai). Their system analyzed my dental bills and other expenses and showed me exactly what I could deduct and whether itemizing made sense for my situation. They have this feature where you can upload your documents and their AI actually reads through them to identify potential deductions you might miss. It's super helpful for complicated medical expense situations like yours. In my case, I discovered that some related expenses for my dental work (like special medications and transportation to specialists) also counted toward the medical deduction total.

Just wanted to follow up about my experience with taxr.ai after seeing it mentioned here. I decided to try it with my situation (had some major medical expenses last year but wasn't sure if itemizing made sense). It was actually really helpful! I uploaded my medical bills and last year's tax return, and within minutes it showed me that even though my medical expenses were significant, I was still better off taking the standard deduction. Saved me from wasting time trying to gather all my receipts and potentially making a mistake. The best part was it explained WHY the standard deduction was better in my case and exactly how much I would have needed in additional deductions to make itemizing worthwhile. Definitely using it again for this year's taxes since I had another medical procedure.

If you're still struggling to get a clear answer about your dental deduction, you might want to try calling the IRS directly. I know that sounds intimidating (and their wait times are ridiculous), but I used Claimyr (https://claimyr.com) and it changed everything. They have this system that gets you through to an actual IRS agent quickly instead of waiting on hold for hours. You can see how it works in their demo video: https://youtu.be/_kiP6q8DX5c I had a similar question about medical deductions last year and was going in circles with online research. The IRS agent I spoke to explained exactly how the deduction would apply to my specific situation, which was way more helpful than general advice. They can look at your previous returns and give personalized guidance.

I need to eat my words from earlier. After my frustrating comment, I was desperate enough to try Claimyr for my own tax situation (different from OP's but also medical deduction related). I can't believe it actually worked. I got a call back in about 90 minutes with an actual IRS agent on the line. The agent was able to check my specific situation and confirm that my particular medical expenses would qualify for deduction if I itemized. She also ran the numbers with me and confirmed I'd still be better with the standard deduction (unfortunately). Would have taken me weeks of trying to call on my own based on past experience. Definitely worth it just to stop stressing about whether I was understanding the rules correctly.

Something nobody has mentioned yet - check if you can deduct it on your state taxes! Even if you can't benefit from itemizing on your federal return, some states have different rules or lower thresholds for medical expense deductions. For example, my state allows medical expense deductions that exceed just 4% of income instead of the federal 7.5%. Also, some states offer special credits for people with lower incomes who have high medical costs.

One thing to consider - are you eligible for the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC)? With an income of $22k, you might qualify for a refundable credit that could be more valuable than trying to deduct the dental expenses. Also, if your income is actually $22k from employment and you paid for the dental procedure yourself, you might look into an HSA for future medical expenses if your employer offers one. Too late for the current expense, but helpful for the future.