What Is The Standard Deduction For 2021

For single filers and married individuals filing separately, the standard deduction in 2021 returns climbs to $12,550, a $150 increase. The following year, the deduction increases to $12,950, a $400 increase. The income levels applying to each tax bracket are increasing up and down the income scale. 1

Computer And Other Equipment Leasing Costs

You may lease:

• fax machines
• other similar equipment

If so, you can deduct the percentage of the lease costs that reasonably relates to earning your business income. You can also deduct the percentage of airtime expenses for a cellular telephone that reasonably relates to earning your self-employment income.

If you buy a computer, cellular telephone, fax machine, or other such equipment, you cannot deduct the cost. You can deduct capital cost allowance and interest you paid on money you borrowed to buy this equipment that reasonably relates to earning your business income.

What Health Benefits Arent Tax

While there are many tax-deductible health benefits and expenses, not everything is considered tax-deductible by the IRS.

Employees cant deduct any expenses you reimbursed them for. Thats because theyre essentially being paid back for those expenses.

This isnt a problem with an HRA, as youre reimbursing your employees using pre-tax money, which means that it isnt reported as income, and therefore no taxes are paid on it. This is as long as your employees have health insurance. Plus, as discussed earlier, youll be able to deduct the reimbursements you provided to your employees.

However, if you decide to reimburse employees using a health benefit stipend, that reimbursement is taxable and cant be deducted. Health stipends are considered taxable income for your employees, much like a salary. As a result, your employees pay income tax, and you wont get tax benefits as an employer.

So why would you offer a taxable health benefit like an employee stipend if you dont get to write the reimbursement off? Health stipends are a great option for organizations with employees who receive premium tax credits, as theyll still be able to use their credits and the stipend benefit. It also allows for more flexibility, as there are fewer restrictions on eligible expenses.

If youre interested in offering your employees a health stipend, PeopleKeep can help. Our WorkPerks stipend administration software makes it easy to provide custom perks to your employees.

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Tips For Finding Healthcare Coverage

With the rising costs of healthcare, how can Americans save on healthcare and the cost of insurance? Be diligent, and do your research to compare plans. That way, you can get the most comprehensive health coverage you can afford.

If your employer offers health insurance and pays for a large portion of the premium, it is a great option to think about. If not, shop the health insurance exchange for affordable coverage. Check to see whether you qualify for any subsidies to help offset the cost of health insurance. Health savings accounts can also help you pay for out-of-pocket expenses such as co-pays and deductibles.

Finally, if you have a catastrophic accident or illness, ask the hospital for help with a payment plan. Many hospitals will reduce their charges for those who are unable to obtain insurance.

When Can You Claim A Tax Deduction For Health Insurance

• Español de Estados Unidos

We all know how expensive healthcare can be, so being able to claim a tax deduction for some of your insurance costs can help you save come tax time. Since there are specific rules and qualifications you must follow, heres an overview of when you can and cannot claim a deduction on your health insurance.

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What Counts Toward Your Health Insurance Deductible

Lisa Sullivan, MS, is a nutritionist and health and wellness educator with nearly 20 years of experience in the healthcare industry.

Your health insurancedeductible and your monthly premiums are probably your two largest healthcare expenses. Even though your deductible counts for the lions share of your healthcare spending budget, understanding what counts toward your health insurance deductible, and what doesnt, isnt always easy.

This article will help you understand what you need to know about health insurance deductibles and how your medical expenses are counted.

The design of each health plan determines what counts toward the health insurance deductible, and health plan designs can be notoriously complicated. Health plans sold by the same health insurer will differ from each other in what counts toward the deductible. Even the same plan may change from one year to the next.

You need to read the fine print and be savvy to understand what, exactly, you’ll be expected to pay, and when, exactly, you’ll have to pay it.

Why Is It So Confusing

Taxes are rarely straightforward. With regard to tax claims for the self-employed, the confusion lies with multiple types of premiums. If you have several types of insurance for your business, as well as health insurance, its tough to figure out which premiums are deductible. Hiring an accountant may be appropriate.

Your health insurance plan premiums are eligible as long as the plan covers medical services that are permissible under the Medical Expense Tax Credit and your plan must qualify as eligible under the CRAs rules.

As a self-employed individual, you are in a unique situation, as employer-paid plans are typically not eligible to be claimed. If your business has employees and you are providing them with a plan, you can claim the premiums as long as they are considered a reasonable business expense. Your employees cannot, because the premiums are not taken from their pay.

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So Tell Me Are Medicare Premiums Tax Deductible

Medicare and taxes have more in common than you think. In addition to being complex and confusing at times, both can yield deductions that provide some relief to your wallet. This knowledge leads us to a common question: are Medicare premiums tax deductible?

Well, the short answer is yes. However, with that yes, a few conditions apply.

What, exactly, may those conditions be? Keep reading to learn more about how your Medicare premiums may be able to save you some money when tax time rolls around.

Get Your Life Insurance Quote

Finding out the tax deductibility of insurance premiums can be a time-consuming and challenging process. In general, life insurance taxation is a complicated topic. For this reason, its always best to talk to a tax professional before you do anything.

If youre in Canada and considering getting life insurance for yourself or a loved one, contact us and get your free quote.

Give us a call today at or email us at for a free, customized quote. Or quote for yourself and instantly compare all the insurance companies in Canada here.

While we make every effort to keep our site updated, please be aware that timely information on this page, such as quote estimates, or pertinent details about companies, may only be accurate as of its last edit day. Brian So Insurance and its representatives do not give legal or tax advice. Please consult your own legal or tax adviser. This post is a brief summary for indicative purposes only. It does not include all terms, conditions, limitations, exclusions, and other provisions of the policies described, some of which may be material to the policy selection. Please refer to the actual policy documents for complete details which can be provided upon request. In case of any discrepancy, the language in the actual policy documents will prevail. A.M. Best financial strength ratings displayed are not a warranty of a companys financial strength and ability to meet its obligations to policyholders.

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Merits And Demerits Of Low Deductible Health Insurance Plans

Like high deductible health plans, low deductible ones also have their respective merits and demerits. These are as follows.

Can You Write Off Life Insurance Premiums On Your Taxes

The cost for a 20-year term policy for a $100,000 tax-free death benefit can range from $15 to over $200 per month, depending on a wide range of factors. Still, no matter how much or how little you pay, its understandable why you would want to save on these expenses.

However, the Income Tax Act makes it difficult for individuals and businesses to write off life insurance expenses from their taxes. That doesnt mean you cant qualify for some savingsyoull just have to work with a tax expert to find exceptions to the rule.

But before you go ahead and frantically call a tax professional, you should know what to expect based on your situation.

Unfortunately, the Income Tax Act and similar regulations dont allow individuals to claim a deduction on life insurance premiums from their taxeswith an exception. Thats because the government classifies life insurance policies as personal expenses.

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How To Report Health Insurance Premiums For 2% Shareholders On Tax Forms

How you pay your insurance premiums plays a huge role in whether you, as a 2 percent S-corp shareholder, can claim the health insurance line deduction on form 1040âbut so is how you report those premiums to the IRS. Because insurance premiums are treated as compensation for income tax purposes, you have to report them on certain forms âbut because theyâre not subject to FICA and FUTA taxes, you donât include those premiums in wages on other lines and forms.

For reference, here is where to includeâand not to includeâ insurance premiums on your tax forms:

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Health Insurance Tax Credits For Employers

In addition to the standard tax deductions discussed above, some small employers may qualify for a health coverage tax credit.

Introduced as part of the Affordable Care Act , these tax credits help small businesses that offer qualified health plans through a Small Business Health Options Program Marketplace.

You can take advantage of these tax credits if you meet all four of the following requirements:

• Have fewer than 25 full-time equivalent employees
• Pay your employees an average wage of $56,000 or less each year
• You offer a group health insurance policy and cover at least 50% of the premium costs
• You purchased the policy through the SHOP Marketplace

Qualifying employers may receive up to 50% of the contribution made toward employee premium costs. Youll receive the highest tax credit benefit if you have less than 10 employees and pay them an average of $27,000 or less.

Thanks to amended IRS rules, you may still be eligible for a small business health tax credit if youre located in a county without a SHOP Marketplace.

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How To File And What Documents You Need

Line 330 on your return must be filled out with all the correct information in order to qualify for reimbursement. In the event of an audit, its highly recommended that you retain all receipts as proof of payment.

In order to claim medical expenses, you will also need

• Supporting documents such as receipts
• Disability Tax Credit Certificate
• Prescriptions for the items and services indicating that they are a medical necessity

If you have a disability, you may be able to partially claim services and items related to your ailment. Its important that you fill everything out carefully. If you arent sure about something, contact the CRA or your accountant.

If you are a self-employed individual you can also claim expenses for your spouse and dependent children, but there are certain limits with that as well. You can potentially claim for extended family if you are paying for their health expenses, but this is not guaranteed. Self-employed people may deduct their health insurance premiums from their income, as opposed to claiming them as a medical expense, and can offset the costs of their premiums with their return.

You should also be aware of what is not eligible. You cannot claim any fees paid to your provincial health plan. You also cannot claim a gym membership or healthy food, saying that theyre important to your health.

Are Medical Insurance Premiums Deductible

An individual can deduct health insurance premiums under the following conditions:

• The premiums were not paid for by an employer.
• The premiums were not paid for with pre-tax dollars .
• A subsidy is not claimed.
• The premiums + medical expenses exceed 10% of the taxpayers adjusted gross income. Adjusted gross income is ones total taxable income, after deductions.

Taxpayers must choose between itemizing their deductions or simply choosing the standard deduction.

Itemized deductions are eligible expenses that decrease ones adjusted gross income. If these expenses are high enough, then it may be to the taxpayers benefit to take the itemized deductions over the standard deduction. Receipts must be kept if one chooses this option.

The standard deduction is a fixed dollar amount, it also reduces ones adjusted gross income. No proof of expenses are expected or required. As such, the taxpayer does not need to hold on to receipts.

A taxpayer cannot claim both itemized and standard deductions. As such, it is recommended every taxpayer calculate the total amount of their itemized deductions when doing up their return, and compare it with the standard deduction to see which results in the bigger tax break.

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How Is The Premium Paid

You pay the health premium if you are a resident of Ontario and your employment or pension income is more than $20,000 a year. In most cases the premium is automatically deducted from your pay or pension. It is included as part of the income taxes deduction on your pay stub.

If you dont have taxes automatically deducted from your pay or pension, the premium is paid when you file your annual personal income tax and benefit return with the Canada Revenue Agency .

If your income is $20,000 or less, you dont need to pay the health premium.

Can You Claim A Deduction On Key Person Insurance

Key person insurance is when a business insures an employee vital to the success of the company. The corporation owns the policy and is also the beneficiary. Unfortunately, the insurance cost is not a deductible expense for the company.

Because the corporation gets the death benefit, the premium is also not considered taxable income for the key person.

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How Deductibles Differ

Your plan might have several different deductibles for various services. If you have individual coverage, you may pay one deductible for most of your healthcare expenses and another toward the cost of prescription drugs. If you have family coverage, you may pay individual deductibles for each person covered and a family deductible for the policy.

Many insurance plans pay for certain preventive care services without requiring you to pay any deductible or copay. For example, routine mammograms for women age 40 and over are covered in full with no deductible or copay. This is a federal requirement for new plans.

Insurance companies charge deductibles in part as a cost-saving measure. The logic is that anyone who is insured and has to pay out of pocket will think twice before using an emergency room or medical services if they don’t really need them.

Americans who have health insurance must pay between 10% and 40% of their own annual healthcare costs, depending on whether they go for a higher-premium or a lower-premium plan.

What Is Form W

The IRS requires employers to report wage and salary information for employees on Form W-2. Your W-2 also reports important details about the amount of federal, state and other taxes withheld from your paycheck as well as other employer fringe benefits like health insurance, adoption and dependent care assistance, health savings account contributions and more. As an employee, the information on your W-2 is extremely important when preparing your tax return.

In general, if you worked as an employee in a given year, you should receive a W-2 from your employer near the beginning of the following year. You will also receive a W-2 if your employer withheld any taxes from your paycheck.

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Plans Where You Pay First Insurance Pays Later

Your health insurance might not pay a dime toward anything but preventive care until youve met your deductible for the year. Before the deductible has been met, you pay for 100% of your medical bills.

After the deductible has been met, you pay only coinsurance until you meet your plan’s out-of-pocket maximum your health insurance will pick up the rest of the tab.

In these plans, usually any money you spend toward medically-necessary care counts toward your health insurance deductible as long as its a covered benefit of your health plan and you followed your health plan’s rules regarding referrals, prior authorization, and using an in-network provider if required.

Although you’re paying 100% of your bills until you reach the deductible, that doesn’t mean you’re paying 100% of what the hospital and healthcare providers bill for their services.

As long as you’re using medical providers who are part of your insurance plan’s network, you’ll only have to pay the amount that your insurer has negotiated with the providers as part of their network agreement.

Although your healthcare provider might bill $200 for an office visit, if your insurer has a network agreement with your healthcare provider that calls for office visits to be $120, you’ll only have to pay $120 and it will count as paying 100% of the charges .