2007,Year-End,Health,Savings,A health 2007 Year-End Health Savings Account Strategies

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A Health Savings Account can be an important part of yourtax and money-management strategy. Not only can you reduce your healthinsurance premiums, but when you fund your account you get a nice tax break. Ifyou stay healthy, that money grows tax-deferred like an IRA, and can amount toa lot of money in retirement. Every year around this time you should assess your financesand see what you need to do to optimize your situation. Making the most of yourHealth Savings Account (HAS) isone area that can really make a difference. Here are the key things you need toknow to get the greatest tax reduction and the most growth out of your HSA. Maximizing YourContribution May Reduce Your Taxes By $1836 or More If you own an HSA-qualified health insurance plan that hasan effective date no later than December 31, 2007, you qualify to make a tax deductiblecontribution to your Health Savings Account. This will immediately reduce your tax bill come April 15.  The contribution limit is not pro-rated based on the numberof months in 2007 in which you had coverage, as it was in the past.  However, you do need to remain anHSA-eligible individual throughout 2008, or the extra amount contributed willbe counted as income and subject to an additional 10 percent tax.  The maximum HSA contribution in 2007 is $5650 for families,and $2850 for individuals.  If you are 55or older, you may also contribute an additional $800.  Your HSA contribution is deductible on your federal incometaxes, and every state (except AL, CA, NJ, and WI) also gives a deduction onstate income taxes.  So by maximizingtheir HSA contributiona family in a 28 percent tax bracket, paying 4.5 percent state income taxes,will reduce their April 15 tax burden by $1836.25.  Though your HSA-qualified health insurance must be in placebefore the end of the year, you do have until April 15 to make your 2007contribution.  Though you cannot put anymore 2007 money in if you miss this deadline, you can reimburse yourself inlater years for qualified expenses incurred in 2007, even if you do notcurrently have the money in your account. Strategic Withdrawals You can withdraw money from your HSA at any time to payqualified medical expenses.  Keep in mindthat this includes over-the-counter medications such as aspirin or cough syrup,dental and vision expenses, and even alternative care such as acupuncture orhomeopathy.  One strategy that many of our members take is to save theirmedical receipts, but to delay reimbursement from the HSA so that the fundshave the opportunity to grow tax-deferred. There is no time limit in which you must withdraw the money.  Since most people will face larger medicalbills during their retirement, it is quite likely that the withdrawals wouldnever be subject to taxes. If you are not fully funding your Roth, another strategywould be to reimburse yourself for medical expenses from your HSA, and todeposit it in your Roth.  Your HSAreimbursement is tax-free, and placing it in your Roth would also give youtax-free growth while enabling you to withdraw the money in retirement tax-freefor any reason, including non-medical expenses. You would also avoid any extra state taxes in the states that currentlytax Health Savings Accounts. Remember to Keep GoodRecords You should keep a record of any qualified medical expensesyou incur.  This will ensure that youhave documentation substantiating any tax-free withdrawal you make from yourHSA.  In order to pay for a medicalexpense from your HSA, it must be a qualified expense.  You can go low-tech and just put receipts in a file, or geta little more organized and track your records online.   2008 ContributionLimit and Deductible Changes In 2008 the maximum annual HSA contribution limit will againgo up, this time to $2900 for individuals and $5800 for families.  Those over age 55 will be allowed to contributean additional $900 to their accounts. The maximum deductibles will be going up next year to $5600for individuals, and $11,200 for families. If you've now got some money socked away in your HSA, it might makesense to move to a higher deductible to further reduce your premiums. Health ReimbursementArrangements If you are currently set up as an S-corp, you shouldstrongly consider setting up a Health ReimbursementArrangement (HRA).  An HRA enablesyour S-corp to reimburse you as a tax-free fringe benefit for the cost of yourindividual health insurance.  This is theonly way an S-corp can legally pay for individual health insurance, and issaving our average S-corp member over $3000. The HRA must be established by December 31st in order to take advantageof it in 2007.  It may also be beneficial to set up an HRA if you have aspouse who works in your business.  Also,many small businesses use an HRA to reimburse their employees for individualhealth insurance premiums (which is much less expensive than getting groupcoverage).  More information and a simpleonline application is available on our Health Reimbursement Arrangement page. What to Do Now Here are the steps you should take now: To maximize the potential growth of your funds, you should try to fund your account as early in the year as possible.  Every month of tax-deferred growth does add up over time.  You can keep the money in a savings account, or invest it in stocks or mutual funds. If you have your health insurance in place but do not yet have your HSA set up, you can do so online or possibly your local bank. If you do not yet have an HSA-qualified health insurance plan, you should apply for coverage as soon as possible.  Your plan must be effective before January 1 in order for you to qualify for the 2007 tax deduction.  By getting your HSA-qualified health insurance in place by January 1, not only will you be able to maximize your tax benefits, but you also may be able to lock in 2007 rates for the next 12 - 24 months. If you have a small business with employees, are set up as an S-corp, or have a spouse who works in the business with you, you should set up a Health Reimbursement Arrangement.  Through HSAs and HRAs, individuals who pay for their ownhealth insurance have some powerful tax reduction strategies at theirdisposal.  December 31st isthe deadline for obtaining 2007 tax deductions, so you should act quickly ifthese ideas make sense for your situation.