Long-Term Care Insurance Tax Deduction Calculator
Enter your age and premium to see your 2026 IRS eligible-premium limit, and how it factors into your itemized medical expense deduction.
Long-term care insurance premiums are deductible as a medical expense, but only up to an age-based limit the IRS sets each year, ranging from $500 (age 40 or younger) to $6,200 (age 71+) for 2026. That eligible amount only helps if you itemize and your total medical expenses exceed 7.5% of your adjusted gross income.
Most articles stop at "yes, it's deductible." The real question is how much of your premium actually counts, and whether it does anything for your tax bill at all. Enter your age, your annual premium, and a rough income picture below to see both numbers clearly.
Calculate Your Eligible LTC Premium Deduction
Your eligible LTC premium (2026 limit)
- Total medical expenses (eligible LTC premium + other)
- 7.5% of AGI floor (must exceed this to deduct anything)
Deductible medical expense amount (if you itemize)
This only reduces your taxes if your total itemized deductions (including this amount) exceed your standard deduction. See the Standard Deduction Calculator to compare.
Long-term care insurance premiums get a narrower tax break than most people assume. The IRS treats an eligible long-term care policy's premium as a deductible medical expense, but caps how much of that premium counts based on your age at the end of the year. For 2026, under Revenue Procedure 2025-32, the limits are $500 for age 40 or younger, $930 for ages 41-50, $1,860 for ages 51-60, $4,960 for ages 61-70, and $6,200 for age 71 and older. If your actual premium is higher than your age's limit, only the limit amount counts toward your medical expenses, not the full premium you paid. That eligible amount then gets added to any other qualifying medical expenses for the year, and the combined total only becomes deductible to the extent it exceeds 7.5% of your adjusted gross income, a floor that applies to all medical expense deductions, not just long-term care. On top of that, this only matters if you itemize deductions on Schedule A instead of taking the standard deduction, since the eligible premium isn't a standalone credit or above-the-line deduction for most taxpayers. There's one notable exception: self-employed people can generally deduct the same age-based eligible amount through the self-employed health insurance deduction, without needing to itemize or clear the 7.5% floor, which is a meaningfully better outcome than the itemized route most employees and retirees are stuck with.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is long-term care insurance tax deductible?
Yes, but only up to an age-based dollar limit set by the IRS each year, and only as part of your itemized medical expense deduction. It is not a separate credit and does not help you if you take the standard deduction.
What are the 2026 long-term care insurance deduction limits by age?
Age 40 or younger: $500. Age 41-50: $930. Age 51-60: $1,860. Age 61-70: $4,960. Age 71 and older: $6,200. These are per-person annual limits set by IRS Revenue Procedure 2025-32.
Do I need to itemize to deduct long-term care insurance premiums?
Yes. Eligible premiums are treated as a medical expense, which only helps if you itemize deductions on Schedule A and your total medical expenses exceed 7.5% of your adjusted gross income.
Whose age determines the limit, mine or my spouse's?
Each covered individual's own age applies to their own premium. If you and your spouse each have a policy, you each apply your own age-based limit to your own premium.
Does the premium limit change if I'm self-employed?
Self-employed people can deduct eligible long-term care premiums (up to the same age-based limit) as part of the self-employed health insurance deduction, without needing to itemize or clear the 7.5% AGI floor. That's a meaningfully different, more favorable rule than the itemized-deduction path most employees use.
Does a hybrid life/LTC policy qualify for this deduction?
Generally no. Combination or "linked-benefit" life insurance policies with a long-term care rider typically do not qualify for this premium deduction the way a standalone tax-qualified long-term care policy does. Check with your insurer or tax preparer about how your specific policy is structured.
Based on IRS Revenue Procedure 2025-32 age-based eligible premium limits for 2026 and the general medical expense deduction rules in IRS Publication 502. This tool provides a general estimate and does not constitute tax advice. Consult a licensed tax professional for guidance specific to your situation.