Missouri Health Insurance Deduction

74 thoughts on “Missouri Health Insurance Deduction”

1. Jan, I noticed that you had advised David (1/10/17) that he would not be able to deduct the premiums withheld by his employer as they had already been excluded from Missouri and Federal wages. I know from points you have otherwise made on this thread that you would agree that this answer applies when the employer plan is a pre-tax plan (e.g., Section 125), but that if the employer plan is an after tax plan, he could deduct these premiums. If he is in doubt as to whether he participates in a pre-tax or an after tax plan, he should contact his employer.

2. Thanks Jim,
   It takes me a few days to get to the answers. I appreciate that you figured it out already.

3. Hi Jim,
   Yes, dental insurance premiums are considered for total health insurance premiums. Personally, I would e-file your return. But, if you do mail it in, provide whatever documentation you have. If you’ve got an annual statement, that’s certainly less paper. But, like I said, I’d e-file instead.

4. Hi Jan, I went back through all the previous responses again and noticed that you had already answered the question of dental insurance being able to be included in the total for health premiums. Thanks for all the information that you have provided on the issue of the Missouri health premium deduction.

5. Are dental insurance premiums considered in the total for health insurance premiums? Also, if you mail in your return, is documentation required to be attached and if so, would that be a copy of each monthly invoice paid? Thanks

6. Hi Gary,
   If you claimed your dependent on your taxes, then you may claim the health insurance premiums also.

7. I went through the worksheet, and I believe my wife and I qualify for this. We also have a 20 year old dependent whose health insurance premiums we paid. Can I add that in to the total also? Thanks.

8. Thank you for your response on my Cobra Premiums. One more twist. I took credit for 4 months of Cobra Premiums in my Health Savings Account. Since those dollars are tax free would those months still qualify as Missouri Qualified Health Insurance Premiums?

9. Hi Berni,
   Yes, I do believe they would still count. You are paying the premium to Boeing, but it’s not being withheld from your wages because you no longer work there.

10. Hello. I see in item #28 that Cobra Premiums are considered a Missouri Qualified Health Insurance Premium. Is this still true if I paid my premiums to my x-employer. The Boeing Company in my case.

11. Hi David,
    I’m sorry, but no. If you’re paying for health insurance through your employer, then that money is already being excluded from both federal and state income tax – so you can’t deduct it again. Only if you were paying for your health insurance outside of an employer plan could you use this deduction.

12. Hello.

    Am I understanding this correctly…..I pay $35 for my employer health coverage out of my weekly paycheck. Am I able to deduct this on my Missouri taxes???

13. Hi Eric,
    Only the insurance premiums are deductible for this. Sorry.

14. Are medical expenses also deductible (cost of care) or just the insurance premiums?

15. Hi Joe,
    I’ve never attached documentation. Then again, I’m always efiling my returns. I believe that you just need to be able to prove you pay for your insurance if asked.

16. The instructions for Missouri income tax in 2014 call for “Attach Supporting Documentation” for line 11 on MO-A, part 1 for Qualified Health Insurance Premiums. What documentation do they want if payment is by direct debit from one’s bank account? How does one provide such documentation when filing electronically?

17. Hi John,
    All three count: your health insurance, dental, and your prescription drug plan.

18. Hi Sheldon,
    You do not have to itemize on your Federal 1040 to take the Missouri Qualified Health Insurance deduction. And yes, dental insurance premiums are deductible as a Qualified health insurance premium.
    You’re welcome.

19. On Missouri’s qualified health insurance premium adjustment to Federal Income Tax, my wife and I have 3 separate plans, medical, dental and prescription. Does only our medical plan qualify as “health” insurance, or do all three qualify, assuming they meet the other requirements, such as not being pre tax?

20. Jan, First, thank you so much for all the information about “Missouri Qualified Health Insurance Premium” deduction. The instructions on page 35 of Missouri 2014 Instruction Booklet are clear who can take the deduction. BUT, the Missouri worksheet for this deduction (page 26 in the booklet) is not very clear who is entitled to take this deduction and at first glance leads one to believe one cannot take the deduction unless they itemized deductions on Fed 1040 and actually contradicts what is in the one paragraph instruction noted above, I.e. Page 35.

    To make it clear… You don’t have to itemize on your Fed 1040 to take the Missouri Qualfied Health Insurance Premium Deduction, correct?

    Also, a new question… Are Dental Insurance Premiums deductible as a Qualfied Health Insurance Premium?

    Thank you again for your very helpful information.

21. Hi Christine,
    that’s an excellent question! Yes, since you pay tax on the health insurance of your domestic partner, you may claim that as a qualified Missouri health insurance deduction.
    But I don’t think the amount in box 12 is the right amount to claim. The DD is for your employer sponsored amount of health insurance. I believe that you’re paying for your partner’s health insurance. That amount might not be on your W2, but I’m pretty sure it will show up on your final pay stub.

22. Hi Jan,

    My fiance is a “Qualified Non-Eligible Dependent” on my employer-provided health insurance plan, meaning that he is a qualified dependent on the plan but the primary insured on the account (me) is responsible for paying taxes on any expenses paid out on his behalf by our insurer. We’re in the boat because he’s my domestic partner but we’re not yet married and my employer won’t consider him eligible (tax-exempt) until we are married.

    It looks like my employer listed the tax-eligible amount on my W-2 in box 12b as a Code DD (Employer Sponsored Health Coverage). Is this amount eligible for Missouri Health Insurance Deduction?

    Thank you!

23. Hey B Longs,
    Yes, you can count your COBRA premiums.

24. Are COBRA premiums considered a Missouri Qualified Health Insurance Premium? I paid over $5100 for COBRA for 3 months! Thanks!

25. Hi M. Sadler,
    Wow, I really had to think about that one! But the deduction is off of your “federal” income, so it’s still allowable to non-residents. Good question! Thanks.

26. Is the deduction for medical premiums available to NON-residents with Missouri income or only to Missouri residents?

27. Hi Charlotte,
    Yes, you can still deduct your health insurance premiums on your Missouri tax return even though you didn’t itemize your deductions on your federal return. I think that’s the best part of this deduction!

28. Hi Amy,
    So on your Mom’s pension, they take her health insurance out after she’s paid tax on the income? Then you could include that towards the Missouri credit.

29. Also at Gary T,
    You’re absolutely right, there are times when what you pay for health insurance is taxable. You do have to be on the look out for that. Thanks for pointing that out.

30. @Gary T,
    Sorry, I didn’t see this one before. Stipends are different from Schedule C income. You don’t deduct the expenses of a stipend on the Schedule C, you make up a worksheet to go along with the line 7 reporting of the stipend income. (I’m being geeky to you because you’re a CPA so you know what I’m talking about.)
    There’s no SE tax on the stipend.

31. In ref to your reply to Sudhir, are you saying you can deduct expenses even if the income is not reported on Sch C? And, if it is reported on Sch C, wouldn’t it be liable for SE tax ?

32. If I paid out-of-pocket for health insurance but didn’t itemize deductions on my federal return, can I deduct “qualified medical expenses” on my Missouri form?

33. I’m working on my mom’s taxes and have a question regarding what can be included as a qualified health insurance premium. First, I see that she has Medicare taken out of her Social Security, so I know that qualifies. Second, she has health insurance premiums taken out of her pension. It looks like these premiums are taken out after taxes, so I am figuring that these premiums qualify as well. Correct?

    Thanks for your help.

34. RE your reply to Elisha on 2/14/2013:

    Even though you may be paying your health insurance premiums through your employer, they may not be excluded from your taxable income. They are only excluded if you particapte in a Sec. 529 plan. Not all employers offer this type of plan and many employees pay their share of health insurance premiums on an “after-tax” basis and do not receive any reduction in taxable income.

35. Hi Sudhir,
    You ask a very good question. Now it seems to me that since you are being taxed on the $65,000 instead of $50,000 — then that would mean that your health insurance does qualify for the Missouri Health Insurance deduction.

    Now, I realize that you didn’t ask–but I’m going to ramble on a bit anyway. You say that you’re on a stipend–to me that usually that means graduate school research or teaching kind of work. You don’t receive a W2, but a letter from the school. I mention this because you may have some othe deductions there.

    Stipends are usually listed on line 7 of your tax return, just like wages. But did you know that you may deduct your expenses from the stipend to reduce your taxable income? For example–let’s say you’re a researcher in a lab. You needed to attend a conference in Chicago about your research. The conference cost you $200, the hotel was, $300, the airfare another $125, etc. You would deduct all of these expenses (unless they were reimbursed by the school) from your stipend.

    I just thought I’d mention that in case that was your situation. Many people don’t know about the ability to deduct your expenses in that situation. Also, your stipend isn’t taxable if it is used to pay your qualified tuition expenses.

36. Hi,
    My employer is paying me stipend. 50,000 approximately. And 15000 approximately for health care insurance benefits for me and family(paid directly to the companies). Total, stipend is 65000. I’m paying tax on the basis of total income of 65000. It’s clear to me the insurance premium( post tax) doesn’t qualify for deduction from federal taxes. However, for Missouri is it considered as qualified health insurance premium?

37. Hi Elisha,
    When you pay for your health insurance through your employer, those funds are already exempted from your taxable income so they would not be included in the Missouri Health Insurance deduction.

38. Connie, no, you cannot claim your copays and prescriptions. Just your health insurance.
    Sorry, I can’t send you a separate email. It’s tax season and I’m kind of busy.

39. I’m trying to figure out if I can claim a deduction for my health insurance premiums. I don’t get SSI but do pay health insurance premiums through work. It doesn’t seem easy to tell though if I’m paying those with after tax income or not by looking at my W2. Any tips? My W2 does use code DD to break out my Employer Sponsored Health Coverage.

40. Will you send me an email verifying the information that you are sending?

41. Would like to know if I can claim copays, prescriptions on my Missouri tax form

42. Thanks for the response. I guess I could understand the “logic”, IF, the Medicare premiums affected the taxability of the SSA benefits. But, that is not the case.
    You gave the scenario when you have insurance benefits withheld from your paycheck. You don’t pay tax on the money only if the health insurance premiums are taken out of your paycheck “pre-tax”. The Medicare premiums are the equivalent of an “after-tax” treatment of premiums. Maybe I need to review the actual MO statute for this deduction. I just don’t see the correlation with having my SSA benefits included in income before I can deduct the Medicare premiums. Because, whether I have to pay tax on my social security benefits so not prevent me from using the Medicare premiums I have paid.
    Once again, thanks for response.

43. Hi Gary,
    Good question. I’ll try to explain, but it’s going to sound lame even if I say it right. Missouri taxes you on your federally taxable income. Missouri has it’s own deductions and stuff that they add and subtract–but they start with your federal adjusted gross income.

    The healthcare deduction for your medicare premiums is a deduction against your taxable income. If you didn’t pay any tax on your social security then you won’t get a deduction for your medicare payments. It’s kind of like when you have health care benefits taken out of your paycheck. You don’t pay tax on that money–so you can’t take a tax deduction for it.

    So–when you don’t pay tax on your social security–then you can’t get a tax deduction for your medicare premium payment either.

    I hope that makes sense–I know it’s funky, but that’s where it’s coming form.

44. In calculating this deduction, I don’t understand the deduction when Medicare premiums are deducted from benefit payments.
    If you follow the MO worksheet, you can only deduct the applicable percentage of the SSA benefits that are taxable on a Federal basis. Since the insurance premiums withheld have nothing to do with what benefits are taxable, why would you have to reduce the premiums?

45. Pingback: Preparing for Tax Day | Foundation Care Blog

46. Thanks again – Joe Roberts

47. Hi Joe–
    You’re right–you don’t need to change the federal. And, you don’t need to itemize on the federal to claim the health insurance on Missouri (I think that’s why so many people miss it.)
    Plus–you don’t need to attach the stuff to the Missouri return because they already have that from before. Really you’re only changing the health insurance line. They may come back and ask you for documentation–but you don’t send it with the return.

48. Thanks for the information! I assume I’ll need to fill out the MO1040 long forms and attach all the same attachments including paid property tax receipts, pension 1099 etc that she attached to the old returns and the same Fed tax return which hasn’t changed since she didn’t itemize. Is that right? Also am I right that even if she didn’t itemize on the federal return she can still claim the health insurance premiums on the Mo returns. Joe Roberts

49. Hi Joe,
    Yes she can. I did this for someone last year and went back for three years. Basically, you just need some documentation, but you don’t mail it with the return–you just need it as back up in case you’re asked for it.
    Remember that the Medicare part B withholding from Social Security counts has a paid health insurance premium too. If your Mom qualifies for a Property Tax Credit, this could increase her PTC as well.
    To file a Missouri Amended return–basically, you’re recreating the original return and checking the “amended return” box. You’ll fill in the “amended return information” section that goes on page 2–showing the date of the amendment, and how much was paid or refunded on the original return.
    The only thing you’re changing is the health insurance deduction line. (I’m assuming your using compuer software and everything else will automatically flow through.) If you’re doing it by hand, of course you’ll have to redo the math.

50. My 91 year old mother is a Missouri resident and she has filed Missouri income tax returns for the last few years using the short form and not claiming the qualified health insurance deduction. Can she file a Missouri amended return for the past couple of years and if so what is required. Thanks Joe Roberts

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