Can I deduct my health insurance premiums?

Some thing is wrong with this check being made to your employer for the medical insurance premiums being made to your employer for the year 2010 that the employer is supposed to be paying for the family coverage amount.

If you plan on using them as a deduction on your 1040 tax form schedule A itemized deduction make sure that the information is on each check as to what it is for in case you need the information in the future.

All of your unreimbursed medical insurance premiums are included along with all of your other medical insurance premiums and unreimbursed medical expenses on the schedule A itemized deductions of the 1040 tax form. The total medical expenses would be subject to the 7.5% of adjusted gross income limit before any of the medical expenses could be used. The amount over the limit would then be included with all of your other itemized deduction on the schedule A of the 1040 tax form.

For more information go to www.irs.gov and use the search box for publication 502

http://www.irs.gov/publications/p502/index.html

The official wording that determines whether you can deduct the premiums on the front of the 1040 or only schedule A (after deducting 7.5% of your AGI) is as follows: Other coverage. You cannot take the deduction for any month you were eligible to participate in any employer (including your spouse's) subsidized health plan at any time during that month. This rule is applied separately to plans that provide long-term care insurance and plans that do not provide long-term care insurance. However, any medical insurance payments not deductible on Form 1040, line 29, can be included as medical expenses on Schedule A (Form 1040), Itemized Deductions, if you itemize deductions. So the determining word for you is "subsidized." If the employer was contributing *anything* towards that $15,000 deal, you can only use schedule A.. If it was pure pass through, you can go above the line.

You're eligible to deduct the expense. However, you'll have to itemize expenses and the health insurance premiums plus other medical expenses will need to exceed 7.5% of your adjusted gross income before you will realize any benefit. Here are points to consider:

1. If the standard deduction (about $10,000 for a married couple) exceeds your itemized deductions, then there is no point in worrying about this.

2. If your itemized deductions will exceed $10,000, then you'll have to consider what is 7.5% of your adjusted gross income (which is the income from all sources before taking deductions). If you earn $40,000, then 7.5% is $3,000. In this case, the first $3,000 of medical premiums and expenses are not deductible.

Writing the check to the employer may confusing things a little but you should be able to take the deduction. I would get something from the employer stating why you are paying these funds.

It does not prevent deducting the premiums - although I can't understand why the employer wants it done that way rather than just deducting it from your salary. As others have mentioned, you must itemize and meet the "7.5%" criteria for it to do any good.

Writing the check doesn't stop it from being an eligible medical expense. But you can only deduct the portion of your unreminbursed med expenses that are over 7.5% of your AGI - and even that only if you itemize.

assuming your medical deductions including health insurance you pay for exceeds 7.5% of your AGI and you can itemize, yes