From your couch to on-the-go, managing your FSA is easier than ever with our mobile technology and easy electronic claims. Shop at the FSA Store. Everyone at P&A Group is helpful and makes managing my plan easy for me and my family.- Hear more from our clients Our team not only has the know-how to answer all your questions but the can-do attitude to go the extra mile for Meet our experienced team. I've been working with P&A for years. They've always been very dependable. I like that I have one person contact...we need same day answers and P&A has that.- Michael, broker Hear more from our clients. Here at P&A, we’re always happy to find a creative, custom solution to your unique benefits challenge.Find PlansHealth Insurance 101For MembersAbout UsHelp Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan and Blue Care Network members are eligible for special savings through our member discount program, Blue365®. As a member, you can get exclusive discounts on healthy products and services through Blue365.

 to browse and redeem the discounts. Here's some of what you’ll find: Deals on products and services such as hearing aids, fitness gear and nutrition resources. Access to $25 per month gym memberships through Healthways Fitness Your Way. There are more than 9,500 participating gyms including L.A. Fitness and Snap Fitness. Discounts on LASIK and eye care services.If your allergy meds are non-prescription, they're not deductible. If you spend money diagnosing, treating, or managing an allergy or sensitivity, that may pay off come tax time. The IRS lets you deduct a variety of expenses related to health care -- much more than just visits to your allergist. Unless your expenses run to several thousand dollars, you're usually better off taking the standard deduction. Doctors If you pay for doctor visits for yourself, your spouse or your dependents -- including checkups and exams even if you feel healthy -- that's a legitimate deduction. Travel to the doctor's office is deductible too.

IRS definition of medical practitioners specifically includes acupuncturists and Christian scientists. If you visit a holistic, homeopathic or other alternative practitioner, you need to prove the medical necessity before the IRS will accept the write-off. Drugs and Diet If your doctor writes you a prescription for a legal drug, you have a valid deduction. You cannot write off the costs of illegal drugs, or drugs imported illegally from other countries, even if an MD recommends you use them. There's also no deduction for non-prescription meds: When you buy an OTC anti-allergy medicine, you're out of luck. If you change your diet due to food allergies, your special food isn't usually deductible either. Home Improvement If your allergist recommends you have the house cleaned to remove a sensitivity trigger, or that you install a new air-filtering system, you can deduct the cost. If you do it on your own initiative, with no medical recommendation, there's no write-off. The deduction is limited only to medical improvements: If your doctor recommends a new filter but you go ahead and add a new air-conditioner, you can only claim the cost of the filter.

If the improvement adds to your home's value, subtract the gain in value from the cost of the improvement. Your Deduction When figuring the deduction, exclude any expenses covered by insurance or other reimbursement. Your total medical bills have to be greater than 7.5 percent of your adjusted gross income before you can write them off. aircon servicing singapore clementiIf your income is $200,000, for example, 7.5 percent of your AGI is $15,000: Subtract that amount from your expenses and whatever's left is deductible. filtrete ultra quiet air purifier for small roomsIf your expenses total $13,500, there's no write-off. rocky mountain summit air purifierBeginning in 2013, your medical bills will need to exceed 10 percent of your AGI in order to be deductible.

References Internal Revenue Service: Medical and Dental ExpensesCigna: FSA, HRA, HSA: Eligible and Ineligible ExpensesMSNBC: IRS Rules for Medical Deductions Are SickeningForbes: Ask the Taxgirl: Allergies and a new HomeBankrate: The Write-Off Diagnosis Photo Credits Hemera Technologies/PhotoObjects.net/Getty Images MORE MUST-CLICKS: Are Donations to Non-United States Organizations Tax-Deductible? Is PMI Tax Deductible? How Much Do You Get Back for a Child on Your Taxes? What Are Some Easy Deductions I Can Claim on My Taxes? Can I Deduct Work Expenses on My Tax Return Without Itemizing? How to Use Form 1098-E for My Taxes How Much of a Tax Deduction for Donating My Appliances? U.S. Government Authorized Mileage Allowance for Tax Deductions Tax Deduction Vs. Exemption IRS Tax Deductions for Church WorkA Health Spending Account (HSA) from Alberta Blue Cross is an innovative way to complement your group benefit plan. HSAs provide the ultimate blend of flexibility and cost containment, while enabling your employees to pay for medical and dental expenses not otherwise covered by your plan—with non‐taxable dollars.

Whether you need to manage costs because of a slowdown or a tight labour market, offering an HSA as part of your Alberta Blue Cross benefit plan gives your business a valuable edge in attracting and retaining quality employees. Credits (dollars) are allocated into a Health Spending Account that employees can use to pay for eligible medical and dental expenses not covered under your group or provincial medical plan. Alberta Blue Cross offers a variety of options for employers to fund HSA accounts. Alberta Blue Cross Health Spending Accounts have become an important component of many groups' overall benefit programs. Alberta Blue Cross Health Spending Accounts add flexibility to group benefit plans by addressing the varying needs of your workforce. HSAs reimburse your employees for a wide range of health related expenses not covered by provincial medicare plans and for services no longer covered by government programs. HSAs also help your employees pay co‐insurance payments, deductibles and amounts in excess of their health and dental plan limits.

Employee attraction and retention Offering an HSA to your employees not only helps maintain a healthy, productive workforce, but gives you an edge for attracting and retaining high‐calibre employees. Active role in health An Alberta Blue Cross Health Spending Account allows employees to take a more active role in their health—using their HSA "credits" wisely and becoming more accountable for their own benefit plan. A Health Spending Account from Alberta Blue Cross provides an avenue for you to deliver tax‐effective compensation to your employees, using pre‐tax dollars just as if expenses were covered through the health/dental plan. And because the employee portion of health/dental plan rates are eligible expenses with Health Spending Accounts, the tax advantages of a Health Spending Account are better than ever. With Alberta Blue Cross’s enhanced claiming processes, it’s easier than ever for employees to submit claims. Balances remaining from health and dental plan claims automatically flow into the HSA plan—meaning no additional claim forms.

The following information is provided as a guideline only and does not supersede information or decisions rendered by Canada Revenue Agency. Under a Health Spending Account, plan members can be reimbursed for medically‐related expenses not covered by provincial health care plans. In general, any medically‐related expense that could be used to meet requirements for deductibility on a plan member's personal income tax return (in accordance with the Income Tax Act) is eligible for reimbursement. In other words, eligible medical expenses for HSAs are those, which normally would otherwise have qualified as a medical expense under Medical Expense Tax Credit. Examples of health and dental benefits eligible for reimbursement: Additional items listed below In addition to deductibles and coinsurance amounts, expenses covered by a Health Spending Account may include the following items, as long as they qualify as medical expenses under the Canadian Income Tax Act and are not covered by any other provincial health insurance plans.

This list of medical expenses and claiming guidelines has been developed by Canada Revenue Agency. Two categories of drugs, medicaments or other preparations or substances that must be prescribed by a medical practitioner: for an oxygen tent or other equipment necessary to administer oxygen or for insulin, oxygen, liver extract injectible for pernicious anaemia or vitamin B12 for pernicious anaemia, for use by the patient as prescribed by a medical practitioner; prescription drugs with a written prescription from a pharmacy. Preventive, diagnostic, orthodontic and therapeutic care. Ambulance charges to or from a public or licensed private hospital. laboratory, radiological and other diagnostic procedures or services used for maintaining health, preventing disease or assisting in diagnosis or treatment as prescribed by a Medical Practitioner or dentist; Examples include in-vitro fertilization procedures, ultrasounds, anaesthetist fees, etc. Please note: Due to changes announced in the 2010 Federal Budget, cosmetic services and procedures purely esthetic in nature are no longer eligible expenses through Alberta Blue Cross Health Spending Accounts unless they meet specific requirements.

This exclusion applies to all cosmetic procedures incurred after March 4, 2010. For a list of additional expenses, please visit Canada Revenue Agency The following example illustrates the tax advantage of an Alberta Blue Cross Health Spending Account funded through the Employer Option. Kevin can save $450 this year with his Health Spending Account His annual salary is $45,000, which places him at a 30 per cent tax rate. His annual portion of the Alberta Blue Cross health and dental benefit plan is $700. His benefit plan includes Extended Health, Dental and Prescription Drug coverage—excluding Vision coverage. Kevin’s employer provided him with an offer of compensation that included $1,500 in his HSA account. Kevin’s family incurs $1,500 in medical expenses not covered by the health/dental benefit plan.Employee contributions to Health and/or Dental rates are eligible for claiming through an HSA. Here’s how Kevin’s compensation can be structured to provide him with savings of $450—based on a $1,500 HSA allocation.