On Mar 18, 8:17*pm, "D. Stussy" <s...[at]bde-arc.ampr.org> wrote:

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And here, all along, I thought that the flat tax that everyone dreams
of is the revenue-neutral tax that lowers everybody's tax bill! ;-D

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"Haskel LaPort" <QBFanBoy[at]gmail.com> wrote in message
news:47e01371$0$15196$607ed4bc[at]cv.net...
- quote -


Because the AMT is (almost) the flat tax you dreamed of. ;-)

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<removeps-groups[at]yahoo.com> wrote in message
news:ed8a8791-3e25-4fef-a659-889482cb0bcc[at]d4g2000prg.googlegroups.com...
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Why not eliminate the deductable altogether. After all we are talking about
the sick and wounded. while we are at it why not get rid of AMT altogether.




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On Mar 17, 4:58 am, Mike20878 <mro...[at]gmail.com> wrote:

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Yes, you do have to include reimbursements. So if your doctor's
visits were $600, and FSA paid $500, you could only report $100 on
Schedule A before the 7.5%. If OTC drugs were deductible, the same
rule would apply.

If you write to your congress person as Phil suggests, you can also
suggest lowering the threshold from 7.5% to 5%, and making (part of)
medical expenses not added back to AMT .

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"Mike20878" wrote:

- quote -

Write your members of Congress and tell them. They love to hear from
constituents, especially in election years.

--
Phil Marti
Clarksburg, MD

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It makes no sense that OTC drugs cannot be deducted on schedule A.
Aren't you supposed to exclude any FSA reimbursements from schedule A
medical deductions? If those include OTC drugs it would not be fair
to have to subtract an amount including OTC drugs from a number that
does not include them.

========================================= MODERATOR'S COMMENT:
No one ever suggested that the tax code was either fair or made
any sense.

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Kurt Ullman wrote:

- quote -

the pills!

(now where did I put my memory pills?)

ChEAr$,
Harlan Lunsford, EA n LA

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In article
<fce71dab-0603-426d-aa65-e3414a5a88a3[at]s12g2000prg.googlegroups.com> ,
"removeps-groups[at]yahoo.com" <removeps-groups[at]yahoo.com> wrote:

- quote -

Can't say for sure with the FSA (thanks for the reminder), but my HSA
manual says OTC can be reimbursed, period. Maybe I should use that
ability to buy some Ginko for my memory (g).

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On Mar 10, 10:16 am, Kurt Ullman <kurtull...[at]yahoo.com> wrote:

- quote -

The name is "FSA - Flexible Spending Account".

It is rather strange that you can pay for OTC drgs with FSA, but can't
deduct them on Schedule A. The FSA form might ask for a letter from
your doctor stating that you need this OTC medicine, though I'm not
sure if this is required by law.

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In article <qIcBj.20580$Ls6.7969[at]trnddc01> ,
"Phil Marti" <prm20871[at]verizon.net> wrote:

- quote -

accounts where you put a little money away with your employer and it is
forfeited at the end of the year and whose name currently escapes me.
I know this isn't what the OP asked, but it might be an option to
consider this year or next.

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"boostm3" wrote:

- quote -

No. The law requires that the substance can't be obtained OTC.

--
Phil Marti
Clarksburg, MD

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I know that drugs prescribed by a doctor are deductible. But there
are many Supplements that doctors will often advise a patient to take
for a specific condition that do not require a prescription to
obtain.

Why should a medication that requires a prescription to obtain be
'more deductible' than a medication that is available over the
counter?

Thats a bit of a rhetorical question, but making it more specific, can
a case be made in support of deducting the annual cost of a specific
medication that is advised for a patient to take on an ongoing basis,
by a doctor, for a specific condition, that is available over the
counter ?

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