<prompt> Human: My husband and I are going to have IVF next month. Between that and other medical expenses this year we should just exceed 10 of our income in medical expenses. We make 200k and will have approx. 22000 in bills. It would be lovely to get back that 2000. The issue is we may need to get financing for the IVF, as to not pay the whole amount in a lump sum, which works out to be 250month. Does taking the financing make it so that we cant write-off the bills?  <response>: 1. You can only deduct medical expenses that exceed 10 of your gross income I know you know, just restating. Also, make sure you include travel expenses to be able to deduct as much as possible; you can figure your actual costs or 23.5mile if you drive to your appointments.2. You can only deduct medical expenses if you itemize. Do your charitable contributions, mortgage interest, medical bills over 10 of your income, and other deductible expenses exceed 12,400? If not, youll take the standard deduction and the medical bills wont matter. If so but you would be under 12,400 without the medical bills, youre not really getting to deduct all of that medical expense still do it, just letting you know.3. Tax deductions result in not paying taxes on that money, not getting the whole amount back. In your case, reducing your taxable income by 2,000 would save you about 560. Not bad, just be aware that the 2k isnt free money, just slightly less expensive money.4. You can only deduct the expense in the year the bill is paid, regardless of the method of payment. For example, if you pay the provider with a credit card this year but dont pay the credit card until next year, the bill was still paid in 2014 and you it can be deducted only on your 2014 taxes. I think financing from an outside company, even if arranged through your provider, would receive the same treatment; because the lender is paying the provider right away, it doesnt matter when you pay the lender as the providers bill has still been paid and you can deduct it. If the provider is financing it directly i.e. youre on a payment plan, then you probably can only deduct what you pay each year. 