Upcoming retirement

Now that I'm a year away from Medicare age, I've been dutifully doing my research when I came across this incredible piece of info. Probably those of you already 65+ know this, but I didn't and was delighted!

So, it appears for those of us who are self-employed (and are not anyone else's employee in another job), after qualifying for Medicare, can deduct the premiums we pay for Medicare Part B and Part D, plus the cost of supplemental Medicare (medigap) policies or the cost of a Medicare Advantage plan!! Wow.

Kiplinger goes on to say: " This deduction is available whether or not you itemize and is not subject to the 7.5% of AGI test that applies to itemized medical expenses. One caveat: You can't claim this deduction for premiums paid for any month that you were eligible to be covered under an employer-subsidized health plan offered by either your employer (if you have a job as well as your business) or your spouse's employer (if he or she has a job that offers family medical coverage)."

Good news for me! And hopefully for some of you.

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Wow. That is new for me. I would be eligible. Where does the premium go on the income tax return? I think I remember seeing a place where it could go, but I was certainly not prompted by Turbo Tax. Any additional info would be greatly valued and appreciated by me and probably by others as well.

Edited to add: I found the Kiplinger article (https://www.kiplinger.com/taxes/602075/most-overlooked-tax-breaks-and-deductions), but it offers no further guidance. It also mentions some other potentially useful deductions. I already deduct 1/2 of the Social Security Self-Employment Tax.

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Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 12/17/2021 02:27AM by myst4au.
I have seen people confuse a tax deduction with a tax credit. A deduction such as this one, allows you to reduce your taxable earnings, not the actual tax you pay. So if you are in the 25% tax bracket, for instance, for every dollar of a tax deduction you are saving 25 cents in tax. Also for the deduction of Medicare premiums (and all other deductions), they cannot exceed the amount that you have earned as a self employee. So this will In fact reduce your taxable income but perhaps it some cases not as much as you thought.
Schedule 1, Line 16 maybe, but I'm not a tax pro.

@myst4au wrote:

Wow. That is new for me. I would be eligible. Where does the premium go on the income tax return? I think I remember seeing a place where it could go, but I was certainly not prompted by Turbo Tax. Any additional info would be greatly valued and appreciated by me and probably by others as well.

Edited to add: I found the Kiplinger article (https://www.kiplinger.com/taxes/602075/most-overlooked-tax-breaks-and-deductions), but it offers no further guidance. It also mentions some other potentially useful deductions. I already deduct 1/2 of the Social Security Self-Employment Tax.
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