I t’s almost time for college students to return to school.

Strategy: Obtain a breakdown from the college on how tuition is being spent. Make sure you obtain a statement in writing. If the school allocates a portion of the cost to health insurance, you can treat that amount as a deductible medical expense if the student would have qualified as your tax dependent.

Here’s the whole story: Even if you qualify for a higher education tax credit, it’s still just a drop in the bucket when you’re paying to send a child to an elite school. Plus, the credits are phased out for upper-income taxpayers. But you still may be able to squeeze some tax benefits out of tuition payments for a child. How? A medical expense deduction. Currently, the threshold for deducting medical expenses is 7.5% of adjusted gross income (AGI). The amount you deduct for your child’s health insurance at school may be just enough to put you over the top or add to an existing deduction. For example, if you expect to have an AGI of $100,000 in 2025 and your qualified medical expenses, including the portion attributable to your child’s health insurance, are $9,000, at least you can deduct $1,500 if you itemize deductions. Caveat: The portion of the tuition payment is deductible as a medical expense only if the school provides the breakdown or it is “readily ascertainable.” Furthermore, if a child attends a special school for learning or another disability—for instance, if the child is hearing-impaired and requires special instruction—the parents can treat the entire tuition cost as a medical expense. Tip: Other health insurance costs of your children may also qualify for the medical deduction.