18. HEALTH AND DENTAL INSURANCE DEDUCTION.
Enter 100% of the amount paid for health and dental insurance
premiums. This includes all supplemental health insurance, such as
Medicare B supplemental medical insurance and Medicare D voluntary
prescription drug insurance program
(not “Medicare
tax withheld” on your W-2).
100% of health insurance premiums
for long-term nursing home coverage qualifies for the health insurance
deduction and is not subject to Schedule A limitations.
It is typically
to your advantage to take the deduction on line 18 instead of Schedule
A, due to the Schedule A reduction of medical and dental expenses by
7.5% of federal AGI. Schedule A may not contain any health or dental
insurance premiums which were used as a deduction on line 18.
Do not deduct pretax premiums
This deduction is not available to individuals who have paid health or dental insurance premiums on a pretax basis. Pretax occurs when an
employer subtracts the amount of the health or dental insurance premium from
an employee’s gross wages before withholding federal and state income
taxes. See your payroll department if you do not know whether or not your health
or dental insurance was paid on a pretax basis.
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Married Separate Filers:
If one spouse is employed
and has health or dental insurance premiums paid through his
or her wages, that spouse will claim the entire deduction. If
both spouses pay health or dental insurance premiums through
their wages, each spouse will claim what that individual paid.
If both spouses
have self-employment income, the deduction for self-employed
health or dental insurance must be allocated between the spouses
in the ratio of each spouse’s self-employment income to
the total self-employment income of both spouses. If health or
dental insurance premiums are paid directly by one spouse, that
spouse will claim the entire deduction. If both spouses paid
through a joint checking account, the deduction will be allocated
between the spouses in the ratio of each spouse’s
net income to the total net income of both spouses. For this
net income calculation, do not include line 18, the health or
dental insurance deduction.
(Examples of how to prorate) |
Go to Line 17
Go to Line 19 |
