The American Association of Retired Persons (AARP) in June lauded a bipartisan proposed bill to protect senior citizens from looming health tax increases.<\/p>\n
Sen. Rob Portman (R-OH) and Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-OH) sponsored the Seniors Tax Hike Prevention Act of 2016 to protect seniors with high health care costs from a tax increase on Jan. 1, 2017.<\/p>\n
On that date, “Americans age 65 and older are set to be hit with an increase in the income threshold for medical expense deductions,” said AARP CEO Jo Ann Jenkins. “The medical expense deduction is a tax benefit that helps millions of middle-income Americans each year offset their high out-of-pocket health costs.”<\/p>\n
The Seniors Tax Hike Prevention Act of 2016 would delay for two years the scheduled increase from 7.5 percent to 10 percent of the income threshold after which medical expenses can be deducted on itemized tax returns. AARP supports the temporary delay as a necessary immediate step toward permanently restoring the current tax threshold for older Americans with high out-of-pocket health care costs.<\/p>\n
Jenkins said although the overwhelming majority of Americans age 65 and older have Medicare coverage, beneficiaries still spend a large portion of their income on out-of-pocket health expenses. The average Medicare beneficiary spends about $6,150 out-of-pocket on medical care. Many older Americans face high costs for long-term services and supports, which are generally not covered by Medicare, as well as for hospitalizations and prescription drugs. Tax relief for middle income seniors with high medical costs provides needed financial resources.
\nAccording to preliminary 2013 IRS tax data:<\/p>\n
\u2022 56 percent of those taking the medical expense deduction were age 65 or older;<\/p>\n
\u2022 Nearly 31 percent of taxpayers age 65-plus that claimed the medical expense deduction had annual income under $50,000; and<\/p>\n
\u2022 Nearly 73 percent of people (of all ages) claiming the medical expense deduction had annual income under $75,000.<\/p>\n
“We are thankful to Senators Portman and Brown for their leadership in working together across the aisle and recognizing the critical need for some seniors to continue to receive important tax relief that helps offset high medical costs,” Jenkins said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
The American Association of Retired Persons (AARP) in June lauded a bipartisan proposed bill to protect senior citizens from looming health tax increases. Sen. Rob Portman (R-OH) and Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-OH) sponsored the Seniors Tax Hike Prevention Act…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":89,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"\r\n