Health Savings Account
Save for when you need it!
Disclosure: Tom Russell is an insurance professional and independent health insurance broker. Tom Russell is NOT licensed to offer tax advice. See a qualified tax professional for tax advice.
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Whether you have earned income only, investment income only, or a combination of both, Kiplinger Magazine Click Here explains how you may be eligible to open a Health Savings Account.
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Wall Street Journal Jan/2016 article explains the amazing power of Health Savings Accounts. Click Here to Read
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CBS Money Watch March/2016 article reveals the long-term benefits of HSAs. Click here
Would you like to go to the dentist, and pay with tax-free dollars? Fill a prescription, and pay with tax-free money? Visit a doctor or have any of a long list of eligible medical treatments, including chiropractic and acupuncture, and use tax-free money! The moment you put money into your HSA, you deduct it. And unlike an HRA (Health REIMBURSEMENT account) you do NOT lose the money left in your HSA account at the end of the year. It rolls over, yes all of it, to the next year when you can make a new tax-deductible contribution. By opening an HSA account, you can use tax-free money for your medical bills, before your deductible is met. Very powerful!
Click here for extensive information and videos on the benefits of an HSA account combined with a qualifying high deductible health insurance plan.
Where to open an HSA account? Not the insurance company that sells you the qualified plan, but with the financial institution of your choice. Just be sure to open the account AFTER the effective date of your qualified policy. There are many possibilities for your account: HSA Bank, Desert Schools Credit Union in Walmart, Vanguard Mutual Funds, Bank of America, Wells Fargo, Health Equity. Compare fees for account maintenance, etc. Desert Schools Credit Union has among the lowest.
HSA Accounts cannot be opened by Medicare Beneficiaries; however, if a Medicare beneficiary has an HSA account prior to going on Medicare, he or she can continue to use the account to enjoy tax-free medical during retirement, and even pay long-term care insurance premiums. You just can’t add anything new to it once you reach Medicare age. Also, be aware that you must have a qualified high deductible health plan in order to open an HSA. If you have a health plan with co-pay benefits, your plan will likely not qualify.
Benefits of HSAs.
Disclosure: Tom Russell is an insurance professional and independent health insurance broker. Tom Russell is NOT licensed to offer tax advice. See a qualified tax professional for tax advice.