LASIK reimbursible?

I am considering having LASIK eye surgery done. The surgery isn't covered by my insurance. I was told that it is reimbursible when I do my taxes. I visited the IRS website but couldn't find what I was looking for. Can anyone help me?

For purposes of deducting medical expenses, medical care means amounts paid for the diagnosis, cure, mitigation, treatment, or prevention of disease, and for treatments affecting any part or function of the body. The medical care expenses must be primarily to alleviate or prevent a physical or mental defect or illness.

Specifically, the IRS allows the deduction for laser eye surgery: According to the IRS Publication 502, Medical and Dental Expenses, “you can include in medical expenses the amount you pay for surgery to improve vision, such as radial keratotomy or other laser eye surgery, if it is done primarily to promote the correct function of the eye.”

Thanks, loku, for your help. I was having a hard time trying to decide whether or not to spend the money on the surgery. At least now I know it is deductible.

I would like to add one thing, which you may already know: medical expenses are deducted as an itemized deduction and only the access of such expense over 7.5% of your adjusted gross income is deductible.

This may be a stupid question, but is the amount we pay towards health insurance also included as a deductible medical expense? If it is, then the health ins. plus LASIK would be over 7.5% for us. Just the LASIK would not be.

Thanks!

Your health insurance is not a deductible expense.
(For some small business owners there is a deductible.)

Thanks to both of you. I was disappointed to think that the LASIK wouldn't hit the 7.5% mark. Then, I realized that I my husband also plans to have it done late this year. So we will hit that mark after all.

Except for certain premiums paid by an employer-sponsored health insurance plan, the premiums you pay for medical insurance are deductible as medical expense.

That sounds even better, loku!

I do have one more stupid question. I found the info about the medical deductions. I went over the form and found that my itemized deductions would be $2825. Now, it says to put that amount on line 36 of 1040. However, the standard deduction would be more than the itemized deduction. Does this mean that there's really no sense in itemizing because I would get less of a credit than if I didn't? (I know this would all effect next year's taxes. I'm just trying to figure out now what the advantages may be.)

My error. Loku is correct.

You are correct. If your itemized deductions are less than the standard deduction, there is no reason to itemize. However, remember that you may have itemized deductions that you did not think of, such as the state income tax that was withheld on your wages.