The IRS Deductions Blog

Archive for July, 2009

Question: Can a doctor bill a patient for the balance after Medicare if that patient has Medicaid as their secondary?

I have a friend who has Medicare/Medicaid (and has for years – she is disabled because of previous brain surgery). She recently went to an emergency room and was admitted to the hospital for several days. For the first time ever she is being billed for balances due after Medicare has paid (these particular doctors do not participate in Medicaid but do in Medicare). I used to do billing many years ago and at that time it was illegal to bill a patient (that has Medicaid) for the balance after Medicare. Has that changed? Medicaid very rarely paid the remaining balance because Medicare generally (with its deductible and 80%) still paid more than Medicaid would in its entirety. Anyhow, she is very worried over this but I don’t think she is liable. Please help. Thanks.

Answer: Yes, the doctor can still bill the patient after their insurance has paid it partially. In our current economy, Medicare and Medicaid are not paying as much to doctors, who have their schooling bills, family expenses, and having to pay for their practices. It’s logical for the doctor to want to see some of his or her money because they’re feeling the crunch just as hard as the rest of us, if not more because of the instability in the health care reform, thus they are being paid even less by all insurance companies everywhere.

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Using cost-sharing to control rising health care costs in Michigan (Working paper) …

Jacob’s Ladder seeks funds for more staff

SOUTH HAVEN — It’s a busy morning the week after Christmas at Jacob’s Ladder Pediatric Rehabilitation Center with parents and children waiting in the lobby for their therapy appointments. Executive Director Mariann Frigo, mother of the center’s 14-year-old autistic namesake, is appealing for help to make her staff even busier. “We have 65 children on our waiting list. It’s hard as a nonprofit …

African Americans and Diabetes, CGreene2

Question: How do you calculate the sales tax deduction on leased vehicles?

The IRS publications just say you can deduct “sales tax paid on leased vehicles,” but doesn’t say how to calculate that. Does that mean to take the sum of the sales tax on all of the payments for the tax year, or figure out the sales tax on the amount that used used for calculating the lease? If the former, does that mean you can do it every year, or only the year in which you leased the vehicle?

Answer: When you lease a vehicle, the sales tax is applied to each payment (you pay sales tax with each monthly lease payment). If the monthly statement from the lessor does not break down the payment between the lease payment and the sales tax, you can take the lease payment and divide it by 1 + your sales tax rate to determine the lease payment BEFORE sales tax. The difference between your regular lease payment and the calculated lease payment before sales tax will be the amount of sales tax. It doesn’t matter whether you do the calculation from month to month, or add up the payments for the year. Since the lease payment is the same each month, the amount of sales tax will be the same each month as well.

You can only deduct the sales tax that you actually paid during the tax year, so you need to work it out using your lease payments that you actually paid during the tax year.

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Income Tax Advisor Provides End Of The Year Tips

var nopreviewimage = “”; if (nopreviewimage == “”){ document.write(‘ ‘); } var new_intro = new String(” As 2009 comes to a close, you may want to start gearing up for tax season 2010. There are some things advisors say you can do before the ball drops to help beef up your return.  ”); new_intro.replace(“‘”,”‘”); document.write(new_intro); As 2009 comes to a close, you may want to start gearing …

Recovery: Tax Filing Season 2010 – January 2010

Question: What is the difference between Turbo Tax and Tax Slayer?

I saw a commercial for a new tax thing on tv called Tax Slayer. I was wondering how it is different from Turbo Tax other than the price. Is one better than the other? And why is it better? thanks!

Answer: they are basically the same i recommend using a pro version just for extra help and to be sure you get all the tax advantages

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The Dodge Journey Now With Lower Co2, Improved Economy and Extra Standard Equipment

MILTON KEYNES, UNITED KINGDOM – January 4, 2010: Chrysler UK Ltd is pleased to announce that the new 2010 Dodge Journey models are now on sale in the UK.

SnapTax From TurboTax Will Let You File Your Taxes From Your iPhone

At Japanese auto auction you can get your dream car at much reasonable rates. Though, mostly used cars are available in these auctions but sometimes new cars are also available at them depending upon the type of auction. Auto auctions take place in almost every country, but most people remain unfamiliar with this. It mostly happens in USA, while in other countries like Japan, auto auctions are very well-liked. In Japan auto auctions are being held every day of the week. And, as relatively better cars are available in them so people always take them seriously. Some of these auctions take place online, so irrespective of your country you can bid on your car and get it delivered in your country.

In Japan, most people having older vehicles replace them with a newer one in an auto auction. This is one of the most popular methods of selling older vehicle since ages. One should have a membership or license to participate in an auto auction, otherwise general public can’t go through this. According to Japanese law, only auto dealers who have the license or membership of auctioning are allowed to participate in auto auctions. General public can contact a professional to place a bid from their side and get an idea about the cost of used vehicles at auction location. Cost of vehicles sold at dealer auctions tend to be lower than those advertised on any dealer’s lot. Sellers miss a potentially higher sticker price to take their inventory to a dealer auction where it will be auctioned off for thousands less than retail for a number of reasons.

Only a small number of auto dealers, who are the members of auto auction, approach for used vehicles exporters, as for them auto auction is primary source of used vehicles. Rests of the members are used vehicles dealership, who only sells vehicles for the Japanese peoples. In Japan there are more than hundreds of well known auto auction groups & around more than 200 auto auctions take place all over Japan. The vehicles driven in the auto auction could be any type—off lease, off rental, company/fleet cars, recaptured car, trade-in cars.

Opposing to popular belief, cars seldom sell for irrationally low prices at the dealer auctions. Regardless of their source, vehicles are driven to auction with the major purpose to be put up for sale rapidly and hassle-free, and this usually happens at prices that dealers can easily earn with a small profit from a resale. Some auction locations examine and get ready the cars for sale if the registered dealer so chooses (at a premium). More common overhauling is also done.

Items on Amazon Right Now for Tax Deduction Silent Auction:

School seeks donations for mega sale

Somonauk Christian School is hosting a “Give from Your Heart Mega Sale” and welcomes all donations for this event, starting at 5 p.m. Thursday, July 8, and 8 a.m. Friday, July 9, and Saturday, July 10 at the school, 315

Dockside Oil Painting by Ron Thomson

Medicare Supplement Plans are one of those insurance plans that are solely related to health insurance. It is a kind of private health insurance policy designed to supplement the Original Medicare plan. The main objective of a Medicare Supplement Plan is to help pay some of the health care costs or fill up the gaps that are left aside by the Original Medicare plans. It is somewhat like coinsurance and deductibles. Sometimes that Medicare Supplement Plans also covers some of the costs that are not al all covered by the Original Medicare plans. And as because these plans covers the gaps between the Policy coverage of the Original Medicare plans and the actual cost payable, they are also called the Medigap policies. But it should be kept in mind that you need to be the beneficiary of an Original Medicare plan Part A and B in order to get enrolled for a Medigap policy. Medigap policies cannot be sold independently.

If you are in the Original Medicare plan you are able to buy a Medicare supplement plan and both of them would pay you their share of coverage. It is to be noted that the Medigap policies are private health insurance plans and the private insurance companies can only sell them and not by any government organizations. These plans are totally administered by the private insurance companies. But it is to be mentioned that though these plans are completely administered and sold by private insurance companies but still there are only 12 supplementary plans labeled A through L. All these plans have there separate policy coverage but the plans under the same letter cover must provide the same benefits. It means that no matter from which company you have bought the policy, they must provide the same coverage as provided by the other companies, nothing more or nothing less.

Almost all of the Medicare Supplement Plans provide the basic benefits of plan A and in addition to that they have their additional benefits. Therefore before choosing a plan for yourself you need to be very careful so that you may choose the right one for yourself and not loose the deal. Therefore seeking the help of an insurance agent can be the most fruitful as they are more aware of the policy details and the rates of different companies. Moreover it should be remembered that though the companies are bound to provide the same benefits under the same letter cover, but they have the freedom of fixing their rates. And the premium rates for the same plan may differ for different companies. Therefore it is duly recommended to read the offer documents carefully as well as compare the premium rates for different companies before investing.

Moreover there are some extra benefits provided by plans B through J. The plans F and J provide a high deductible option. Though sometimes they costs a little more but pays even more in return. And in some cases it is also seen that some of these plans, though in the outer view pays lesser than other plans but in original fact saves a lot more in the form of yearly deductibles. Therefore it is very essential to know your requirements clearly and choose the plan accordingly that meets the most of your requirements.

Items on Amazon Right Now for Deductible Coinsurance Example:

Discount Health Plans: Don’t Get Fooled by Products That Aren’t Health Insurance

MOUNTAIN VIEW, CA–(Marketwire – 04/01/10) – eHealthInsurance (NASDAQ: EHTH – News ), the leading online source of health insurance for individuals and families, today released a series of frequently asked questions (FAQs) to help consumers understand the risks — and possible benefits — of so-called “discount health plans.” According to an October 2009 survey conducted by the Coalition Against …

DDA Video – Instructional Videos – MSC