Health Insurance Contributions, Tax?

[UltraVires]

Okay, I know that if you work for an employer and say you have to pay $100 per check as a co-insurance payment, then that money comes off of the top; no tax.

What if you work for a company with no bennies and you pay premiums out of pocket? Can you get that money back as a tax rebate, or are you just out of luck and have to pay full tax?

[RealityChuck]

You can deduct medical and dental expenses on your tax form. I believe this includes insurance premiums.

The catch is that your expenses have to be over a threshold amount for you to claim them.

[rainwalker78]

@jtgain

Okay, I know that if you work for an employer and say you have to pay $100 per check as a co-insurance payment, then that money comes off of the top; no tax.

What if you work for a company with no bennies and you pay premiums out of pocket? Can you get that money back as a tax rebate, or are you just out of luck and have to pay full tax?

The part that comes out of your check is the premium. Co-insruance refers to paying a percentage of the bill. For example, if you have 20% co-insurance, and the bill is $200. you would owe $40. Co-payment refers to having a set amount you owe for certain visits. For me, annual wellness visits are no cost to me, regular doctor visits are $25 co-payment, specialists are $50 co-payment, anything else is 20% co-insurance.

From this article

@MSN Money

Health insurance premiums
Any health insurance premiums you pay, including some long-term-care premiums based on your age, are potentially deductible. You have to add these, however, to your medical expense pot. Medical expenses have to exceed 7.5% of your adjusted gross income (AGI) before they give you any tax benefit.

But if you’re self-employed and not covered by any other employer-paid plan, you can deduct 100% your health insurance premiums “above the line.” Above the line means the expense is included in adjusted gross income and doesn’t get lumped in with itemized deductions. That means that you not only don’t have to exceed the 7.5% floor, you don’t even have to itemize!