Health Savings Accounts, as I’ve mentioned before (see , , , , , , and ), are a great way for the low-income tax resister to shield a little more hard-earned money from the IRS.
It looks like things may get even better:
Republicans met “Cover the Uninsured Week” on by pushing several stalled enhancements for health savings accounts (HSAs) and introducing a new but potentially expensive tax credit for health insurance.
Rep. John B. Shadegg, R-Ariz., introduced the Patients’ Health Care Reform Act, which would allow all Americans a refundable tax credit for purchasing health insurance.
“Refundable” tax credits are ones like the Earned Income Tax Credit, in which you can get a credit that exceeds the tax you owe, so that the government ends up owing you money at the end of the year (most other tax credits only allow you a maximum credit equal to the tax you owe).
Rep. Eric Cantor, R-Va., asked Congress to move H.R. 1872, which would allow HSA holders to take an above-the-line deduction for the cost of their insurance premiums.
That’d be nice. I had been under the impression that you could pay your insurance premiums from your HSA deposits, which turns out not to be the case. For me, this isn’t so much of an issue: I get to deduct my health insurance premiums anyway because I’m self-employed. But for other folks who use HSAs, this change would certainly help.
