On Tue, 30 Dec 2008 19:07:23 EST, "removeps-groups[at]yahoo.com"
<removeps-groups[at]yahoo.com> wrote:

- quote -

But I'm still happy to have honda raise them for me.

- quote -

Your words make it seem like you objected to honda answering non-tax
questions.

But maybe not, since you do too. I appreciate your answers as well.

- quote -

LOL. Thank you. Actually, the doctor who did my required colonoscopy
told me to do this too -- He told me that he rarely got from an
insurance oompany what he billed, and there was no reason I should pay
more than the insurance company would pay -- and I actually tried some
of this yesterday and today. I have a lot of bills, the radiology,
anesthesiolgy, surgery, rehab, etc. and the biggest, the hospital.
One of the medium sized bills had an quick payment amount that was 30%
less than the full amount. That was good, especially psychologically,
and it was the price the woman on the phone quoted me. Another one
lowered the price 30% just because I asked. I didn't have to beg or
anything.

The othere were different departments of the hospital, and share a
policy, and said they would send me a form to fill out.

So while I did spend several thousand dollars in tne last two days,
even if I'm wrong about what t I made this past year, even if it is
less, what I spent was probably not enough to get past the threshhold
that Alan explained to me. OTOH< my spending this year depleted the
amount I will spend next year, so I may not even get the maximum
dedution that I could have even next year. Oh, well, I tried, so be
it. This will just come out of the money I might have left the
government when I died, asssuming I still had some money then. (One
of the candidates last year said that paying more taxes was patriotic,
and a Republican or two made fun of him. I think it is indeed
patriotic, just as giving the government money is.)

But really while I'm not unhappy about this is that I finally opened
all my bills on Monday, and it's only about half of what I thought it
would be. I called the billing office on my third day in the
hospital to learn my charges so far, and I thought they gave me a
number twice what the actual hospital bill is, and I though that by
the time I was discharged it would be 50% more even than that. The
amount stunned me and I asked again, and thought I heard the same
number. So I'm glad the bill even before any negotiation is about 40%
lower than I thought it was.

Thank you all.

--
<< ------------------------------------------------------- > << The foregoing was not intended or written to be used, > << nor can it used, for the purpose of avoiding penalties > << that may be imposed upon the taxpayer. > << > << The Charter and the Guidelines for submitting posts > << to this newsgroup as well as our anti-spamming policy > << are at www.asktax.org. > << Copyright (2007) - All rights reserved. > << ------------------------------------------------------- >

"removeps-gro...[at]yahoo.com"
- quote -

Answering these questions is essential to assisting the OP in trying
to decide whether to take a tax deduction this year, next, or never,
for the full amount of the medical expenses or part of them each year.

--
<< ------------------------------------------------------- > << The foregoing was not intended or written to be used, > << nor can it used, for the purpose of avoiding penalties > << that may be imposed upon the taxpayer. > << > << The Charter and the Guidelines for submitting posts > << to this newsgroup as well as our anti-spamming policy > << are at www.asktax.org. > << Copyright (2007) - All rights reserved. > << ------------------------------------------------------- >

On Dec 30, 4:07*pm, "removeps-gro...[at]yahoo.com" <removeps-
gro...[at]yahoo.com> wrote:
- quote -


A small correction: if the provider charges interest on late payments,
the interest is not a deductible medical expense. It's nondeductible
personal interest. The same is true if the OP borrows money to pay
the medical bills; the interest expense is not deductible.

Interest and late payment penalties are not included in the definition
of "medical care" expenses in IRC Sec. 213(d).

Katie in San Diego

--
<< ------------------------------------------------------- > << The foregoing was not intended or written to be used, > << nor can it used, for the purpose of avoiding penalties > << that may be imposed upon the taxpayer. > << > << The Charter and the Guidelines for submitting posts > << to this newsgroup as well as our anti-spamming policy > << are at www.asktax.org. > << Copyright (2007) - All rights reserved. > << ------------------------------------------------------- >

On Dec 27, 6:44 pm, honda.lion...[at]gmail.com wrote:

- quote -

These are not tax questions. It's up to the hospital to determine how
much interest to charge. However, there may be a law that there
hospitals cannot charge interest for 6 months (or maybe forever), as
I've never seen it on my bills. The interest that the hospitals
charge should be deductible -- if they charge $150 interest, you end
up paying saying 50150, and that 50150 is deductible subject to the
usual limits.

You can call the hospital and tell them you'll pay X dollars now, Y
dollars early next year, Z dollars the following year. I'm not sure
if they will be OK with the Z dollars as it is very far into the
future, and they may send your account to collections. But if you
negotiate, they very well might accept your offer. They will almost
certainly accept the X and Y dollar payments. Also, try to negotiate
the price, as the insurance companies do this -- so find out from a
friend what insurance companies actually pay for that procedure.
Though these are not tax matters.

--
<< ------------------------------------------------------- > << The foregoing was not intended or written to be used, > << nor can it used, for the purpose of avoiding penalties > << that may be imposed upon the taxpayer. > << > << The Charter and the Guidelines for submitting posts > << to this newsgroup as well as our anti-spamming policy > << are at www.asktax.org. > << Copyright (2007) - All rights reserved. > << ------------------------------------------------------- >

On Sat, 27 Dec 2008 17:47:50 EST, Alan <sfcnm-mtm[at]yahoo.com> wrote:

- quote -

Thanks a lot for your very detailed answer. You also explained all
the factors I needed to knwow about.

--
<< ------------------------------------------------------- > << The foregoing was not intended or written to be used, > << nor can it used, for the purpose of avoiding penalties > << that may be imposed upon the taxpayer. > << > << The Charter and the Guidelines for submitting posts > << to this newsgroup as well as our anti-spamming policy > << are at www.asktax.org. > << Copyright (2007) - All rights reserved. > << ------------------------------------------------------- >

On Dec 27, 3:05 pm, Bobby <bob234REMOVET...[at]bigfoot.com> wrote:
- quote -

Is there interest charged on the medical expenses if they are not paid
by a certain date? Can you pay off the medical expenses in
installments such that you do not have to borrow? If you have to
borrow, what is the interest rate on what you borrow?

As Alan pointed out, sure you can save around $1900 (with Alan's
assumptions re filing status etc.) in taxes. But if you have to borrow
$20,000 or so to do so and at an interest rate of 10%, then it may be
more financially advantageous to pay in installments. More information
is needed.

--
<< ------------------------------------------------------- > << The foregoing was not intended or written to be used, > << nor can it used, for the purpose of avoiding penalties > << that may be imposed upon the taxpayer. > << > << The Charter and the Guidelines for submitting posts > << to this newsgroup as well as our anti-spamming policy > << are at www.asktax.org. > << Copyright (2007) - All rights reserved. > << ------------------------------------------------------- >

Bobby wrote:
- quote -

significantly and kick you into a higher tax bracket, you should
pay only the amount needed to wipe out your 2008 tax liability.
A quick calculation on my computer provides an example for
someone who is single, under age 65 and has paid $600 in state
income tax and made $400 of substantiated charitable
contributions. The standard deduction (5450) and personal
exemption (3500) equals $8950. That makes your taxable income
$15050. To wipe out that income you would first have to pay $6250
of medical bills to arrive at itemized deductions equivalent to
the standard deduction ($1800 of the medical would be disallowed
under the 7,5% AGI rule). You would then pay another $15050 to
wipe out your taxable income. That's a total payment of $21300 in
2008.

The above assumes your taxable gross income was $24000.

--
<< ------------------------------------------------------- > << The foregoing was not intended or written to be used, > << nor can it used, for the purpose of avoiding penalties > << that may be imposed upon the taxpayer. > << > << The Charter and the Guidelines for submitting posts > << to this newsgroup as well as our anti-spamming policy > << are at www.asktax.org. > << Copyright (2007) - All rights reserved. > << ------------------------------------------------------- >

Would there be a tax advantage to me for paying a good chunck of my
medical bills, half?, in 2008, versus paying all of it in 2009.

I'm only earning about 24,000 a year, and I recently got sick and have
about 50,000 dollars of uninsured medical expenses.

I can pay this from savings (including, in part, the money I saved
from not paying insurance premiums) and by borrowing the rest. The
question is just, Should I rush to pay half before the end of the year
and the other half in the first 2 to 6 months of 2009?

--
<< ------------------------------------------------------- > << The foregoing was not intended or written to be used, > << nor can it used, for the purpose of avoiding penalties > << that may be imposed upon the taxpayer. > << > << The Charter and the Guidelines for submitting posts > << to this newsgroup as well as our anti-spamming policy > << are at www.asktax.org. > << Copyright (2007) - All rights reserved. > << ------------------------------------------------------- >