Yes, long-term care insurance premiums are tax deductible on your federal return, but with real limits. The policy has to be tax-qualified, the amount you can count is capped by your age, and for most W-2 employees the deduction gets absorbed by the 7.5% adjusted gross income floor or lost to the standard deduction. Self-employed filers get a far more usable version of the same break. Here’s how the rules work for 2026 and what actually determines whether you’ll see a dollar of tax savings.
The Age-Based Cap on Deductible Premiums
Even when everything else lines up, you can’t deduct every premium dollar. The IRS caps the deductible amount per person, based on your age at the end of the tax year. For 2026, the caps are:1Internal Revenue Service. Revenue Procedure 2025-32 – 2026 Inflation Adjustments
- 40 or younger: $500
- 41 to 50: $930
- 51 to 60: $1,860
- 61 to 70: $4,960
- Over 70: $6,200
The cap is per person, not per policy or per household. A married couple both over 70 can count up to $12,400 in combined premiums on a joint return.1Internal Revenue Service. Revenue Procedure 2025-32 – 2026 Inflation Adjustments Anything you pay above your age cap simply doesn’t count.
The Two Hurdles That Kill the Deduction for Most People
Passing the age cap is only the beginning. Long-term care premiums are bundled with all your other unreimbursed medical costs (doctor visits, prescriptions, dental work), and only the total above 7.5% of your adjusted gross income produces any deduction at all.2Internal Revenue Service. Publication 502 (2025), Medical and Dental Expenses
An example. Your AGI is $80,000. You paid $4,500 in long-term care premiums (within your age cap) and $4,000 in other medical costs. Total medical expenses: $8,500. The first $6,000 (7.5% of $80,000) counts for nothing. Your deduction is $2,500.
Then the second hurdle. Medical expenses only help you if you itemize on Schedule A, which means your total itemized deductions have to beat the standard deduction. For 2026, that’s $16,100 single, $32,200 married filing jointly.3Internal Revenue Service. IRS Releases Tax Inflation Adjustments for Tax Year 2026 Unless your medical amount above the AGI floor, plus state and local taxes, mortgage interest, and charitable gifts, adds up to more than the standard deduction, itemizing loses you money. This is where younger and middle-aged filers with modest LTC premiums generally get nothing.
Self-Employed Filers Get a Better Version
If you’re self-employed, you don’t have to clear the 7.5% floor and you don’t have to itemize. Under IRC Section 162(l), self-employed individuals take qualified long-term care premiums as an above-the-line deduction that reduces adjusted gross income directly. You calculate it on Form 7206 and carry it to Schedule 1 (Form 1040), line 17.4Internal Revenue Service. Instructions for Form 7206 (2025)
The age caps still apply. A 62-year-old sole proprietor paying $7,000 in premiums includes only $4,960 for 2026.1Internal Revenue Service. Revenue Procedure 2025-32 – 2026 Inflation Adjustments But that $4,960 comes off the top of gross income, alongside the standard deduction. No AGI floor, no itemizing required. For self-employed people, this is usually the most accessible way to get a tax benefit from LTC coverage.
There’s one restriction. You can only deduct premiums for months when neither you nor your spouse was eligible for an employer-subsidized health plan. A side business paired with a W-2 job that offers health benefits typically knocks out Form 7206 for those months.
The Policy Has to Be Tax-Qualified
None of this applies unless your policy is a “tax-qualified” long-term care insurance contract under Internal Revenue Code Section 7702B.5Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 26 USC 7702B – Treatment of Qualified Long-Term Care Insurance A qualified contract has to be guaranteed renewable, cannot have a cash surrender value, and cannot pay dividends in cash (they must reduce future premiums or add to future benefits).
Benefits can only pay out when a licensed practitioner certifies that you cannot perform at least two activities of daily living for a period expected to last at least 90 days, or that you need substantial supervision because of severe cognitive impairment.6Administration for Community Living. Receiving Long-Term Care Insurance Benefits Most policies sold today meet these standards, but a pre-1997 contract or something written by an unusual carrier is worth checking. If the policy doesn’t qualify, the premiums aren’t deductible at all.
Hybrid Life Insurance Policies With LTC Riders
If you own a combination policy that bundles life insurance with a long-term care rider, the tax treatment is more complicated. The IRS treats the LTC portion as a separate contract, and that portion has to independently meet the Section 7702B qualification standards.5Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 26 USC 7702B – Treatment of Qualified Long-Term Care Insurance
Only the share of your premium allocable to the qualified LTC coverage is potentially deductible, and many hybrid issuers don’t break that allocation out clearly. If your carrier can’t give you an annual statement separating the LTC premium component, you likely can’t claim any deduction on that policy. Ask before you assume the number.
An Alternative Route: Paying Premiums From an HSA
If you can’t use the deduction because you don’t itemize or you don’t clear the AGI floor, a health savings account is a different way to get a tax break. You can withdraw HSA funds tax-free to pay qualified long-term care insurance premiums, up to the same age-based dollar cap that applies to the deduction.7Internal Revenue Service. Publication 969 (2025), Health Savings Accounts and Other Tax-Favored Health Plans LTC premiums are one of the few insurance types HSA funds are allowed to cover.
The math works because the money went into the HSA pre-tax, grew tax-free, and now comes out tax-free for this purpose. You can’t double up, though. Premiums paid from an HSA are not also deductible on Schedule A.
How to Claim It on Your Return
If you’re itemizing, put the premium amount (capped at your age-based limit) on Schedule A, line 1, along with your other qualified medical costs. Schedule A applies the 7.5% AGI floor and produces the deductible portion.8Internal Revenue Service. 2025 Instructions for Schedule A (Form 1040) – Itemized Deductions
Self-employed filers use Form 7206 to calculate the deduction and report the result on Schedule 1, line 17.4Internal Revenue Service. Instructions for Form 7206 (2025) Either way, you need the total premium you paid during the calendar year and your age (or your spouse’s age) on December 31. Your insurance carrier should send an annual premium statement. Form 1099-LTC is a different document reporting benefits paid out to you, not premiums paid in, so you’ll only see one if you actually collected on the policy during the year.9Internal Revenue Service. Instructions for Form 1099-LTC (Rev. April 2025)
Don’t Forget the State Return
Some states offer their own tax incentives for long-term care insurance, separate from the federal rules. These vary considerably: some states run credits calculated as a percentage of premiums paid, others allow deductions on different terms than the federal caps, and some offer nothing at all. A state credit can help even when your federal deduction is zero. Check your state department of revenue for the current rules, because these programs change and don’t track the federal schedule.