Patients who ask their ophthalmologist or optometrist for a letter for the IRS usually need it for the higher standard deduction for blindness. Publication 501 (2025) asks the eye doctor to certify that best-corrected vision in the better eye is no better than 20/200, or that the visual field is 20 degrees or less.
The ophthalmologist or optometrist writes and signs the certified statement in their own format, since the IRS publishes no template. The patient completes nothing on it.
The issuer sets what the letter or report must contain; check its current rules before you write it.
Certified statement from an eye doctor (higher standard deduction for blindness)
There is no form to fill: the program asks for a letter or report with the content it sets. Vero Scribe writes the visit note it draws on, so the details are ready when you write it.
A form is listed only after its name and number were confirmed on the issuing agency’s or insurer’s own website, or in the form itself. Each entry links to that source. The list was last checked in October 2026. Forms and their requirements change without notice, so check the official page for the current version before you complete one.
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It should certify that the patient cannot see better than 20/200 in the better eye with glasses or contact lenses, or that the patient's field of vision is 20 degrees or less, and state whether the condition is likely to improve beyond these limits.
Yes. Publication 501 accepts a certified statement from an eye doctor, which it describes as an ophthalmologist or an optometrist. No other medical specialty is named for this purpose in the publication.
No. The publication tells taxpayers to keep the statement in their records. The patient claims the higher standard deduction by checking the Blind box on the standard deduction worksheet, as long as they do not itemize deductions.