One of the most common errors actually was forgetting to sign up for FSAs.
FSAs enable you to set aside pre-tax dollars to pay for qualified health care costs.
To learn more about pre-tax benefits, like healthcare FSAs, ask your human resources department.
Many consumers use FSAs to cover routine medical expenses, like vision care, orthodontia, and prescription drugs.
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That makes FSAs, in particular, a benefit that you really want to take the time to understand.
While 35 million workers use FSAs, millions more are offered them and could save tax with them.
Contributing to qualified retirement plans, IRAs, HSAs, FSAs, and education savings accounts can provide tax benefits as well.
With FSAs, employees can have a certain amount of money deducted from their paychecks, tax-free, for medical expenses.
You forfeit any unused funds each year, but many employers that offer FSAs give employees a grace period.
FSAs are mostly funded by workers through contributions taken out of their paychecks.
Doing away with inhibiting restrictions on MSAs and FSAs would go a long way toward solving our health care problems.
However, often overlooked healthcare FSAs can get you a tax break of up to 40% on many of your routine health-related expenses.
Another reform: Correct the equally imbecilic shortcomings of Flexible Spending Accounts (FSAs).
That site features calculators that can show you how much you can save on your routine healthcare, dependent care and commuting expenses with FSAs.
Healthcare FSAs (like ones for dependent care and commuting) allow you to cover eligible expenses with money taken out of your paycheck before taxes.
First, make sure you've been reimbursed for all your out-of-pocket medical costs, says Jody Dietel, chief compliance officer for WageWorks, a provider of FSAs.
The growth of FSAs and HSAs has fueled other patient-centered innovations.
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To learn more about pre-tax benefits, like health care FSAs, invest a little time on a site like SaveSmartSpendHealthy.com or ask about it at work.
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So, under the proposed law, for 2013 and beyond, the prohibition on using tax-free funds from FSAs, HRAs, HSAs, and Archer MSAs to purchase OTC medicine would be lifted.
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The health care law changed the way that OTC medications had been treated under those plans: currently, OTC medications are no longer qualified medical expenses for most flexible spending arrangements (FSAs), health reimbursement arrangements (HRAs), health savings accounts (HSAs), and Archer medical savings accounts (Archer MSAs) unless a doctor writes a prescription for the medications.
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