Yes, IVF can be a deductible medical expense. IRS Publication 502 (for 2025 returns) lists in vitro fertilization, including temporary storage of eggs or sperm, as includible when performed on you, your spouse or your dependent. But you can deduct only the part of your total medical expenses that is more than 7.5% of your adjusted gross income, only if you itemize on Schedule A, and not for anything paid by insurance or a tax-free HSA or FSA. Costs for a gestational surrogate are not deductible.
The rule, straight from IRS Publication 502
IRS Publication 502, Medical and Dental Expenses, is the IRS’s plain-language guide to the medical expense deduction. The current edition, checked in October 2026, is labeled for use in preparing 2025 returns. Under its “Fertility Enhancement” entry, you can include the cost of procedures such as in vitro fertilization, including temporary storage of eggs or sperm, and certain surgeries, performed on yourself, your spouse or your dependent to overcome an inability to have children.
Three conditions do most of the work:
- The 7.5% floor. You can deduct only the amount of your total qualifying medical and dental expenses that is more than 7.5% of your adjusted gross income (AGI).
- Itemizing. The deduction is claimed on Schedule A (Form 1040). If your itemized deductions in total are less than your standard deduction, the medical deduction does not help you.
- No double benefit. You cannot include expenses paid by insurance, reimbursed by an HRA, fully reimbursed by an FSA funded with pre-tax income, or paid with a tax-free HSA distribution.
A worked example
Suppose your household AGI is $100,000. Your 7.5% floor is $7,500. If you paid $20,000 out of pocket for qualifying IVF expenses and had $1,500 of other qualifying medical costs in the same year, your total is $21,500. The deductible amount is $21,500 minus $7,500 = $14,000, which then counts toward your itemized deductions. These numbers are an illustration only; your actual benefit depends on your tax bracket and whether itemizing beats the standard deduction for you.
The example shows why timing matters. Concentrating treatment costs in one calendar year can push you well over the floor, while spreading the same costs across two years may leave less, or nothing, deductible.
What usually counts and what does not
| Expense | Under Pub 502 |
|---|---|
| IVF and other procedures on you, your spouse or dependent | Includible (“Fertility Enhancement”) |
| Temporary storage of eggs or sperm | Named as includible within IVF costs |
| Prescribed fertility medications | Generally includible as prescribed medicines |
| Travel to treatment by car | Actual costs, or the standard medical rate of 21 cents a mile for 2025, plus parking and tolls |
| Lodging while away for treatment | Up to $50 per night per person, subject to Pub 502’s conditions; meals are not included |
| Gestational surrogate’s identification, retention, compensation and medical care | Not includible |
| Anything reimbursed by insurance or paid from an HSA/FSA tax-free | Not includible |
| Payments for care to be given substantially after year-end | Generally not includible in the year paid |
Surrogacy, donors and partners
Gestational carriers
Pub 502 is explicit: “You can’t include in medical expenses the amounts you pay for the identification, retention, compensation, and medical care of a gestational surrogate because they are paid for an unrelated party who is not you, your spouse, or your dependent.” That covers agency fees, the carrier’s compensation and her medical bills. Costs of your own egg retrieval and embryo creation, as procedures on you, are a separate question; ask a tax professional how they apply in a surrogacy plan. Our gestational carrier legal overview covers the non-tax side.
Egg and sperm donors
Pub 502 does not have a specific entry for donor compensation or agency fees, and the surrogacy reasoning (payments for someone who is not you, your spouse or your dependent) may be applied to some donor costs. Because we could not find a direct IRS statement on donor fees in Pub 502, treat any deduction for them as a question for a tax professional rather than an assumption. Procedures performed on you, such as the transfer, follow the general fertility rule.
Unmarried partners
The rule covers procedures on you, your spouse or your dependent. If you are not married, each partner generally deducts only expenses for procedures performed on themselves, and only if they paid them. Who pays, and from which account, matters.
Prepaid packages, storage and timing
Pub 502 generally lets you include only expenses paid during the year for care received, and says current payments for care to be provided substantially beyond the end of the year generally cannot be included. That matters for:
- Multi-cycle or refund packages paid upfront for cycles that may happen next year. See our guide on embryo banking and multi-cycle pricing.
- Multi-year storage prepaid in one go.
- Financing. If you borrow to pay a clinic, the medical expense is generally counted when the clinic is paid, not as you repay the loan; ask your tax preparer to confirm for your situation. Our guide to IVF financing options covers loans.
HSA, FSA or deduction?
An HSA or FSA lets you pay qualifying medical expenses with pre-tax money from the first dollar, while the itemized deduction only helps above the 7.5% floor and only if you itemize. For many people the accounts are the more reliable benefit, but the same dollar cannot be used for both. Our HSA and FSA guide for fertility explains contribution timing, and FertileStart goes deeper on HSA rules and FSA use-it-or-lose-it planning.
Add up the year’s qualifying costs, subtract 7.5% of AGI, and see if itemizing wins.
- Usually discussed when
- You paid for IVF out of pocket in a single tax year.
- Main upside
- Large unreimbursed treatment costs can produce a meaningful deduction.
- Main tradeoff
- The floor and the itemizing requirement mean many people get little or no benefit; surrogacy costs never count.
Common mistakes to avoid
- Counting the sticker price instead of what you paid. Only your unreimbursed, out-of-pocket amount counts, after insurance and HSA/FSA payments.
- Claiming the carrier’s costs. Pub 502 rules these out explicitly.
- Using the wrong year. The deduction follows the year you paid, with the prepayment limits described above, not the year treatment started.
- Forgetting the small items. Mileage, parking, pharmacy co-pays and monitoring bills add up across a cycle.
- Splitting costs carelessly between unmarried partners. Who received the procedure, and who paid, both matter.
- Assuming last year’s numbers apply. The mileage rate and other figures are updated each year; check the edition of Pub 502 for the tax year you are filing.
Records to keep
- Itemized invoices from the clinic, lab, anesthesia provider and pharmacy, showing what was done and for whom.
- Proof of payment with dates (card statements, receipts, bank transfers).
- Insurance explanation-of-benefits statements, to show what was not reimbursed.
- HSA/FSA distribution and reimbursement records, so you do not double-count.
- A mileage log with dates and destinations, plus parking and toll receipts.
- Lodging receipts for treatment travel.
- Contracts for packages, storage and financing, showing what the payment covered and when.
For the bigger financial picture, including grants and employer benefits, see our fertility financing hub and HowToHaveABaby’s financial planning guide for IVF.
An expanding file or receipt organizer makes it easier to keep a full year of clinic invoices, pharmacy receipts, EOBs and mileage notes together for tax time.
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Frequently asked questions
Is IVF tax deductible?
Yes, as a medical expense, if the procedures are performed on you, your spouse or your dependent, you itemize on Schedule A, and only for the portion of total medical expenses above 7.5% of your adjusted gross income.
Can I deduct surrogacy costs?
No. IRS Publication 502 says amounts paid for the identification, retention, compensation and medical care of a gestational surrogate are not includible because she is not you, your spouse or your dependent.
Is egg or embryo storage deductible?
Publication 502 includes temporary storage of eggs or sperm within IVF costs. Long-term or prepaid multi-year storage is less clear; ask a tax professional.
Can I deduct IVF paid with my HSA?
No. Expenses paid with a tax-free HSA distribution cannot also be deducted.
Can I deduct mileage to my fertility clinic?
Yes, as a medical travel expense. For 2025, Publication 502 lists a standard medical mileage rate of 21 cents a mile, plus parking and tolls.