Legislatively, we are on vacation. The California Senate left for the holidays at the end of September and right now, Congress is on vacation; although they are technically between breaks (Thanksgiving and Christmas).
If you remember what we wrote about last month, it is still relevant this month. We still need to call or write our Senators to support the Portman-Brown bill, which will stop the health tax increase. Each year, nearly 10 million taxpayers with high health care costs deduct those expenses from their taxes. This deduction means real savings, especially for seniors who spend large amounts of their money on prescription drugs, hearing aids, home-based care, nursing home care, and other health care costs, but if Congress doesn’t act quickly, seniors who use this deduction will see higher taxes. Reducing the medical expense deduction threshold from 10% to 7.5% will provide real tax relief for seniors.
AARP strongly supports this bill. “Changes to the tax code should not result in a disproportionate, adverse impact on older Americans,’’ said AARP Executive Vice President Nancy LeaMond. “Efforts to restructure all or part of the federal tax system should recognize the importance and maintain incentives for health and retirement security.” Please call or write our Senators now. There is also an advocacy page at action.aarp.org. Just type “Seniors Tax Hike Prevention Act of 2017” into the search bar and you will find a link to the action page.
On that note, we wish you happy holidays and a happy and healthy new year! See you in 2018!