about Tax changes for health insurances

tax season

The Internal Revenue Service estimates that it takes roughly 23 hours and costs about $300, on average, to compile and file a Form 1040.


Health insurance premiums have been deductible against income taxes for years. But this break — valid only for 2010 — allows you to subtract this cost from the income that's subject to Social Security taxes too. That can save roughly 15.3% on your annual health premium cost. So, if you pay $500 a month in premiums, you'll save about $918 in tax.

Unfortunately, figuring out where to claim this deduction isn't easy. Apparently because it's so short-lived, no one bothered to include it on the 1040 or even the IRS Schedule SE, where your Social Security and Medicare taxes are calculated, Luscombe said. You need to write it in on the SE form, putting the cost in brackets on Line 3 to show that you've subtracted it from your otherwise taxable self-employment earnings

complete news: http://www.latimes.com/health/la-fi-perfin-20110327,0,1979589.column