Medical procedure in December 2024 but paid in January 2025 - Which tax year to deduct medical expenses?

For medical expense deductions, what matters is when you actually paid the bill, not when the service was performed. So if you had the procedure in December 2024 but didn't pay until January 2025, you would claim the deduction on your 2025 tax return (the one you'll file in 2026). The IRS follows what's called a "cash basis" for medical deductions - they care about when the money left your hands, not when you received the service. This is actually mentioned in IRS Publication 502 which covers medical expenses. Also remember that medical expenses are only deductible if you itemize deductions on Schedule A, and even then only the portion that exceeds 7.5% of your adjusted gross income (AGI). So if your AGI is $50,000, you can only deduct medical expenses that exceed $3,750.

Just wanted to share my experience with a similar situation. I was totally confused by all the tax rules about medical deductions until I found this AI tool called taxr.ai (https://taxr.ai) that helped me figure out exactly when I could deduct my medical bills. Last year I had a bunch of dental work done in November but didn't get around to paying some bills until January of the next year. The tool analyzed all my medical receipts and payment dates and clearly showed which expenses belonged to which tax year. It saved me so much stress trying to figure it out on my own!

I just wanted to follow up about that taxr.ai site someone mentioned earlier. I decided to give it a try with my stack of medical bills from last year, and it was actually really helpful! I uploaded my bills and it sorted everything by payment date, showing me exactly which tax year each expense belonged to. The best part was that it calculated my 7.5% AGI threshold automatically and showed me that I was about $200 over the limit, so itemizing would be worth it. It even flagged some expenses I didn't realize were deductible, like the mileage to and from medical appointments. Definitely saved me a lot of headache trying to figure this out on my own!

If you're having trouble getting answers from the IRS about medical deductions (I know I was on hold FOREVER), I used a service called Claimyr (https://claimyr.com) that got me through to an actual IRS agent in about 15 minutes. They have a demo video showing how it works: https://youtu.be/_kiP6q8DX5c I had this exact same situation with medical expenses spanning two tax years and needed official clarification. The IRS agent confirmed that it's the payment date that matters, and also explained some exceptions I wasn't aware of. Saved me hours of waiting on hold and potentially filing incorrectly.

I need to eat my words about that Claimyr service. After posting my skeptical comment, I was still struggling to get through to the IRS about a medical expense question similar to what OP was asking. After three days of trying and getting disconnected, I decided to try the service. It actually worked! I got through to an IRS agent in about 20 minutes (not quite 15, but still impressive). The agent confirmed that for my situation with medical bills paid via payment plan spanning two tax years, I need to deduct the expenses in the years I made the actual payments, not when I received treatment. Saved me from making a mistake on my return that might have triggered an audit. Never been so happy to be wrong about something!

Just wanted to add something important that people often miss about medical expense deductions: if you prepay medical expenses in one year for services to be provided in the next year, the IRS generally won't let you deduct them until the services are actually provided. So if you're thinking of paying a bunch of medical bills in December to increase your deduction for the current year, be careful. This only works if you're paying for services already received, not future services.

Don't forget that you need to keep really good records if you're deducting medical expenses! I learned this the hard way when I got audited two years ago. Make sure you have proof of when you actually paid each bill (receipt with date or credit card statement). Also, the threshold is 7.5% of AGI which is higher than it used to be. For many people it doesn't make sense to itemize anymore unless you have really high medical costs or other big deductions like mortgage interest.

Great thread everyone! I just wanted to add that if you're using HSA (Health Savings Account) funds to pay for medical expenses, the same timing rules apply. You can only reimburse yourself from your HSA for expenses that were incurred after your HSA was established, but the key is when you actually paid for the expense, not when the service was performed. So if you had that December 2024 procedure but paid in January 2025, you could reimburse yourself from your 2025 HSA contributions for that expense. Just make sure to keep good records showing the service date AND payment date, especially if you're not reimbursing yourself immediately. The IRS allows you to reimburse yourself years later as long as you have proper documentation. Also, remember that HSA reimbursements are tax-free, so if you're eligible for an HSA, that might be a better option than trying to itemize medical deductions on Schedule A, especially with that 7.5% AGI threshold.