Medical Expense Floor to 10%

[zeros]

According to the Kiplinger Tax Letter, in 2013, the 7.5% of AGI floor for deducting medical expenses jumps to 10%. Filers 65 and up, and their spouses on joint returns, avoid this squeeze until 2017.

[taxea]

Made me ill when I first saw this a couple of months ago. How is this supposed to help those on a fixed income and low income?

[Peachie]

To be able to get

Made me ill when I first saw this a couple of months ago. How is this supposed to help those on a fixed income and low income?

the medical deduction at 7.5% you need to be low income, high medical. This is the only way you can get any kind of write off most years. I hadn't written off medical in years until I fit the low income/high medical profile. It's a shame. However, I am thankful that I am able to qualify.

Peachie

[zeros]

10% Floor

I assume that this was put into law to help finance the new health insurance plan.

[taxxcpa]

Medical expense

It seems strange to me that discretionary expenditures such as high mortgage payments for more expensive homes and the related real estate tax are fully deductible while anyone unfortunate enough to incur large medical expenses have to deduct 7.5% soon to be increased to 10%. Large charitable deductions are also a matter of choice. It could be argued that such deductions serve a useful purpose, but it could often be of more limited effect due to high administrative costs.
Once I was involved in a case involving a "charitable" organization called the "Navy Club" which supposedly was exempt from state franchise tax since it was supposedly for the benefit of naval and marine veterans. In reality it was a bar which allowed non-veterans as well as veterans to join and was a way around the state liquor laws. Somehow the club's lawyer managed to get all charges dropped and get the audit I was scheduled to make cancelled.

[PIGLEE]

This 10% law, to me is so unfair. When 100% of Gambling Losses (???) are deductible. Medical vs Gambling, guess which one I would get rid of?

[taxxcpa]

Gambling

This 10% law, to me is so unfair. When 100% of Gambling Losses (???) are deductible. Medical vs Gambling, guess which one I would get rid of?

Gambling losses are offset by gambling winnings. To keep it fair, medical winnings should be allowed to offset medical expenses.

[Snaggletooth]

Responsibility

What it boils down to is the Government intends to do NOTHING to stop the double-digit rise in medical costs, but they are rising so fast that the deduction has become a revenue factor for the government. This was the case when they raised the threshhold from 3% to 5%, and then again when they raised it from 5% to 7.5%.

This IS indeed part of the health care bill, which again did nothing to stop the rise in medical costs, but put tax requirements and other statutory requirements on the rest of us to pay for it.