<prompt> Human: I had a large medical expense at the start of the year. 2,375 for the first, 880 for the second charge. I make 10 an hour, and work an average of 35 hours a week, so my yearly salary is 18,200. 3,255 is way over 7.5 of my salary, which means the IRS will let me deduct it ?.If 18,200 - 3,255 15,000 14,945 but 15k makes math easier is my salary for the year, I should only owe 10 for the first 10k, and 12 for the last 5k.So 10,000 .10 1,000 and 5,000 .12 600. I should owe 1,600...?I have already paid about 400 in income tax this year so far so assuming the math is close to correct, I only owe 1,200.Im also under 25 and live at home. Would I even pay full taxes? Would it be smart to claim like 4-5 exemptions so I dont pay any taxes, then wait to pay off whatever small amount I owe?  <response>: You will not itemize and use your medical expense, because your schedule A amount of 1890 i.e. 3255 7.5 of 18200 is way smaller than your standardized deduction.You prefer to use the standardized deduction to get a smaller taxable income:Using itemized deduction: taxable 18200 1890 16310 Using standardized deduction: taxable 18200 12000 6200You would much prefer to pay tax on 6200 tax being 620 than to pay tax on 16310 tax being 9525 10 6785 12 953 814 1767.The smart thing to do if you are working all year is to use 2 allowances, which conveys you will have 12000 deduction. The system will then take out withholding across the year that will add up to 620, and since that is what you owe, you get no refund and your take-home pay is as big as possible while still paying your tax on time. 