I took money out of my IRA to help me pay medical premiums for my daughter. Can I count this towards medical expenses to mitigate the early withdrawal penalty?

Yes. You can deduct those medical expenses as they are considered as paid out of pocket.

Also, unreimbursed medical expenses exceeding 7.5% of your AGI are also excluded from the early withdrawal penalty.

Please read this TurboTax Help article.

You can claim all medical and dental bills, prescription drugs and health insurance premiums paid out-of-pocket as Medical Expenses in Schedule A - Itemized Deductions.

The IRS has an extensive list of what you can and can’t deduct.

For tax year 2024, Medical Expenses are subject to the 7.5% rule and you can only claim the excess over 7.5% of your Adjusted Gross Income.

Please note that Itemized Deductions will only benefit your taxes when they exceed your standard deduction.

For tax year 2024, standard deductions are:

• $29,200 for married couples whose filing status is “married filing jointly” and surviving spouses;
• $14,600 for singles and married couples whose filing status is “married filing separately”; and
• $21,900 for taxpayers whose filing status is “head of household.”

The additional standard deduction for a blind taxpayer—i.e. a taxpayer whose vision is less than 20/200— and for a taxpayer who is age 65 or older at the end of the year is for each instance:

• $1,550 for married individuals; and
• $1,950 for singles and heads of household.

Here's how to enter your medical expenses in TurboTax:

1. Open or continue your return.
2. Navigate to the Schedule A section:

• TurboTax Online/Mobile: Go to Schedule A.
• TurboTax Desktop: Search for Schedule A and then select the Jump to link.