Covid Tests and Tax-related notes of interest

SCDHEC news release, 2022/03/11
"the federal government has expanded its at-home test program to offer every home in the U.S. two sets of four free at-home tests."

https://www.covidtests.gov/
"Every home in the U.S. is eligible to order 2 sets of 4 free at-home tests. If you already ordered your first set, order a second today."


Related to HSA accounts:

https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/i8889.pdf

What’s New

Amounts paid for personal protective equipment (PPE), such as masks, hand sanitizer, and sanitizing wipes, for use by you, your spouse, or your dependent(s) to prevent the spread of COVID-19 are eligible medical expenses that may be paid or reimbursed from an HSA.

The cost to diagnose COVID-19 is an eligible medical expense for tax purposes, which means the cost of home testing for COVID-19 for you, your spouse, or your dependent(s) may be paid or reimbursed from an HSA.

Reminders
Qualified medical expenses.
Over-the-counter medicine (whether or not prescribed) and menstrual care products are qualified medical expenses that may be paid or reimbursed from an HSA.

More info on the last item:
2020 CARES Act: Menstrual products eligible for FSA, HSA, & HRA
If you have receipts, you can get reimbursed retroactively back to Jan 1, 2020.
"However, the CARES Act does not specify whether or not menstrual products will remain protected in future tax law after the COVID-19 pandemic is over."

them tarty pops so sweet

Last year I found out unfrosted poptarts are vegan. (The frosted ones contain gelatin.) That made me nostalgic, so I bought a box each of unfrosted cinnamon and strawberry poptarts. They still taste like I remember from childhood. Sugary-sweet morning memories; memories that go along with Saturday morning cartoons on the TV. Flintstones, He-man, Thundercats Ho!

Did you know even a single unfrosted poptart contains 12 grams of sugar, which per the nutrition panel is 24% of the recommended daily intake? (Contrary to what I'd expect, the frosted ones purportedly don't have much more sugar than the unfrosted ones.) That is one reason I haven't eaten up these 2 boxes of tarts yet; I only take them out once in a big while as a treat.

I heat mine in the toaster, but the microwave heating instructions on the box surprise me:
"Heat 3 seconds at a time until warm enough."

Does Kellogg's truly expect anyone to start and stop their microwave every *3* seconds to check on the warmth of their tarts? I am guessing those instructions are to avoid any lawsuits due to accidental over-heating of the tarts, since some microwaves heat a lot faster than others. But I wonder if three seconds may not even be long enough for a microwave to start emitting its rays. My microwave generally needs to run for a minimum of 20 seconds to result in any noticeable heating of the food.