darkoshi: (Default)
Do any of you have experience using a discount dental plan (as opposed to dental insurance)?

From the ads I've looked at, they sound a bit too good to be true. It sounds like you get charged in-network insurance prices, without having actual insurance, for a yearly fee between $100 and $200 dollars. The ones I've looked at advertise "sample savings" of 20% or even 40 to 50%, even for things like orthodontics or implants which can cost thousands of dollars. Even 20% off of $3000 would be a net savings. You're limited to whichever dentists accept the plan, but insurance is the same way.


Examples:
https://www.aetnadentaloffers.com/plans/aetna-dental-access

https://www.dentalplans.com/how-it-works


Maybe fewer dentists accept these plans, than accept insurance? That Aetna plan only lists 2 orthodontists in my area, and both are at the same address. But a couple other plans I looked at had more dentists participating.

Maybe the sample savings is the best you can hope to get, and most dentists give a much smaller discount?

tax notes

Saturday, March 15th, 2014 11:48 pm
darkoshi: (Default)
Do not go to irs.com looking for forms and publications; that is a private website, not affiliated with the IRS. The real IRS website is irs.gov.

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If you have an HSA (Health Savings Account), you have to submit an additional form (8889) with your federal taxes. When your HSA contributions are taken automatically from your paycheck, that is called a "Cafeteria Plan", and those amounts should be included along with the employer contributions on line 9, *not* on line 2, of form 8889.

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Long Term Care (LTC) insurance premiums may be considered a qualified medical expense that can be reimbursed from an HSA (some restrictions apply).

.

The federal "free file fillable forms" website automatically rounds amounts that you enter (at least, it did last year). Therefore, if you plan to submit your taxes via that method, and if you fill out drafts of your forms first, it is best to round the amounts to begin with.

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South Carolina lets you contribute a part of your tax refund to several specific organizations via what they call "Contributions for Check-offs" (form I-330). I was never certain, but always assumed, that these organizations were all themselves tax-deductible. In other words, that you could deduct these contributions on your federal tax form the next year.

Their website simply says that the donations *may* be tax deductible:
Donations made to elligible [sic] charities may be tax deductible. Deductions are taken in the year in which the donation was made. Individuals making donations through CheckOff, filing in 2012 for 2011, would include the donation on their 2012 federal tax return.


Today, I tried to verify it by using the search tool on the IRS website. I only found some of the organizations, so it seems that the rest might not be officially tax-deductible after all. These were my findings:

Endangered Wildlife Fund (www.dnr.sc.gov) - not found
Childrens Trust Fund (www.scchildren.org) - EIN:57-0785431
Eldercare Trust Fund (aging.sc.gov) - not found
SC Veteran's Trust Fund - EIN:57-1031920
Donate Life South Carolina (www.donatelifesc.com) - EIN:57-1052258
SC First Steps to School Readiness Fund - EIN:57-1087576
War Between the States Heritage Trust Fund - not found
SC Litter Control Enforcement Program (PalmettoPride) - EIN:58-2466709
SC Law Enforcement Assistance Program (scleap.org) - not exactly found, but seems to be affiliated with this organization: EIN:57-1063879 (Law Enforcement Chaplaincy for South Carolina)
K-12 Public Education Fund (S.C. Department of Education) - not found
SC State Parks Fund (www.southcarolinaparks.com) - not found
SC Military Family Relief Fund - not found
SC Conservation Bank Trust Fund (sccbank.sc.gov) - not found
SC Financial Literacy Trust Fund - not found
SC State Forests Fund (S.C. Forestry Commission) - not found
SC Department of Natural Resources Fund (www.dnr.sc.gov) - not found

(update - this one was added for tax year 2016)
SC Assocation of Habitat Affiliates (www.schabitats.org) - seems to be an affiliate of Habitat for Humanity International, which has EIN 91-1914868.
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Free File Fillable Forms

When entering form 1040, the "Done With This Form" button will always remain disabled. It is only used for the other forms that you Add.

W2, W2G and 1099-R forms can be added on the "Step 2" page.

"All other Form 1099’s, including SSA 1099, 1099 INT, 1099 MISC etc. are not available as individual forms in Free File Fillable Forms because you do not have to e-file these statements to IRS."

insurance links

Friday, February 25th, 2011 10:06 pm
darkoshi: (Default)
Insurers keep a secret history of your home
Insurers increasingly are using a huge industry database ... to drop or deny coverage based on a home's history of claims or damage reports.

Insurance companies are terrified of rising losses from water and mold damage. So a single report of water-related problems may be enough for insurers to shun your home.


Links to U.S. state insurance departments

SC Dept. of Insurance - See the link "Top 20 Homeowners Premium Comparison Guide" for a spreadsheet comparison of rates from several insurance companies.

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