Are long-term care (LTC) insurance premiums tax-deductible? It depends. Qualified LTC policies are considered health insurance under federal income tax rules. So if you buy a policy, your premiums are treated as medical expenses for itemized deduction purposes.
But your total eligible medical expenses for the year must meet the 7.5% of adjusted gross income threshold before you can start deducting LTC premiums.
Long-Term Care Insurance Can Offer Additional Tax Benefits
Business owners may have additional options for deducting qualified long-term care (LTC) insurance premiums. A self-employed individual, partner, or S corporation shareholder who owns more than 2% of the company can generally deduct qualified LTC premiums as self-employed health insurance, subject to the same age-based limits, without itemizing or applying the 7.5% AGI threshold.
A C corporation that pays for tax-qualified LTC coverage for an employee-owner can generally deduct the full premium without the age-based limits, while the employee can generally exclude the benefit from taxable income.
And there are age-based limits on how much you can deduct. For 2026, the maximum deduction is:
| Age | Maximum deduction |
| 40 or under | $500 |
| 41–50 | $930 |
| 51–60 | $1,860 |
| 61–70 | $4,960 |
| Over 70 | $6,200 |
A taxpayer who is exactly 70 falls in the 61–70 age band, with a maximum deduction of $4,960. Source: IRS Rev. Proc. 2025-32.
Other age groups’ 2026 maximums fall between these two. Contact our office for more information.