Crossing the border for treatment: documents, hours, medicine and taxes
What US citizens need to walk back across, when each crossing is open, what happens to medicine you bring home, and what the IRS says about dental care and travel abroad.
Documents to come back
At a land crossing a US citizen may re-enter with a US passport, a passport card, an Enhanced Driver's License, or a Trusted Traveler card (NEXUS, SENTRI or FAST), among a few others listed by CBP.[1] A REAL ID driver's license is not on that list: it is for domestic flights, not the border. Bring the passport or passport card.
When the crossings are open
Hours as published by US Customs and Border Protection, which also shows live pedestrian waits.[2] Appointments that end late in Los Algodones need to finish before Andrade closes.
| Destination | US crossing | Hours |
|---|---|---|
| Los Algodones | Andrade, CA | 6 am – 10 pm |
| Tijuana | San Ysidro | Open around the clock (PedWest 6 am – 2 pm) |
| Tijuana | Otay Mesa | Open around the clock |
| Mexicali | Calexico West | Open around the clock (Calexico East 6 am – 10 pm) |
| Nogales | DeConcini | Open around the clock (Mariposa 6 am – 10 pm) |
| Ciudad Juárez | El Paso: Paso del Norte, Bridge of the Americas, Ysleta | Open around the clock |
| Nuevo Progreso | Progreso International Bridge | Open around the clock |
| Reynosa | Hidalgo | Open around the clock |
| Matamoros | Brownsville: B&M, Gateway | Open around the clock |
| Nuevo Laredo | Laredo Bridges I and II | Open around the clock |
| Ciudad Acuña | Del Rio | Open around the clock |
| Piedras Negras | Eagle Pass Bridge II | Open around the clock (Bridge I 7 am – 11 pm) |
Medicine you bring home
CBP defers to the FDA on medicines.[4] The FDA treats personal importation case by case: it may allow a product for personal use, not for sale, in a limited quantity, that does not present an unreasonable risk.[3] In practice, a short course of antibiotics or pain medication prescribed after treatment, in labelled packaging with the prescription, is the low-risk case. Controlled substances follow stricter rules, and a product not approved in the US is at the officer's discretion. Declare what you carry.
Taxes, HSAs and FSAs
- Dental care counts as a medical expense under IRS Publication 502, which lists X-rays, fillings, braces, extractions and dentures, and does not require the dentist to be in the United States.[5]
- Travel can count too when the trip is primarily for and essential to medical care: transportation, and lodging up to $50 per night per person. Meals do not.[5]
- Cosmetic surgery generally does not: Publication 502 names face lifts, hair transplants and liposuction.[5]
- Medicine bought abroad generally cannot be included if you bring it home; medicine you buy and use in the other country can be, if it is legal in both countries.[5]
- HSA and FSA money can pay for expenses that would qualify under Publication 502, so foreign dental treatment qualifies when the procedure itself does.[6] Keep an itemized receipt.
For what to get in writing from the clinic before you go, see what to ask a clinic before you book.
Sources
- Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative — U.S. Customs and Border Protection — documents accepted at land crossings
- Border Wait Times — CBP — hours and live waits for every land port
- Personal Importation — U.S. Food and Drug Administration
- Prohibited and Restricted Items — CBP
- Publication 502, Medical and Dental Expenses — IRS
- Publication 969, Health Savings Accounts and Other Tax-Favored Health Plans — IRS