Medical expense threshold to rise in 2013

People who deduct medical expenses as part of their itemized deductions will have a higher bar to hurdle next year. Currently (including tax filing for the year 2012) taxpayers must deduct 7.5% of their Adjusted Gross Income (AGI) from their medical expenses before deducting them. For many, this means that their medical expense deduction is totally wiped out. For their 2013 taxes, they will have to deduct 10% of their AGI, probably wiping out even more people's medical deductions. Note: this change does not affect people over 65 years old, for now. People over 65 will be affected starting in 2017. This is a provision of the Affordable Care Act, AKA Obamacare.