iaink

If more than 3% (something like that anyway) of your taxable income is medical expenses, then you may claim the expenses as a deduction and you will get a tax refund back equivalent to the tax you would have / have paid on that income...which is about 40% for most people.

Its wont cover the cost quite like real insurance, but quite often ortho is excluded anyway, or limited to 50% contribution

You need a lot of medical expenses to be able to claim, but if you can make arrangements with the dentist to bill it, or make the receipt look like it was allpaid at once, then you might be able to get three years worth of bills on one receipt and be able to clear the 3% of income threshold, which makes claiming the tax rebate possible. But you are only going to get back whatever your marginal tax rate is back, so it not quite as cushy as dbd makes it sound.

Chances are that regular cleaning and checkups and the odd filking wont get close to expensive enough, but for Orthodentic works, or a $30k abcess it will.

dbd33

$114 isn't as bad as I would have expected but then I suppose it depends on the limit of the claims. The tax break is a simple one, you can deduct medical expenses from taxable income so long as they exceed a percentage of income; 6% if I recall correctly. In effect it's a discount equal to your marginal tax rate. I just had the dentist bill me in advance, for an amount that would bring my income for that year down the limit of the next lower tax band.

dbd33

In short, what Iain said.

Mans

Thanks Iaink for the explanation.


Like you say need a large bill though unlikely to use this ... but nevertheless worth knowing.

Rgds
Mans

iaink

If you have kids and they need North American teeth, I wouldnt be so sure

windward

Blurgh...

Playing in the nave of a Church where the Choir usually perform.. standing.. ofc had one of those wooden shelf type things you normally pop your bible on holding my music, I lose my footing mid-coda, clarinet hits shelf and surprisingly, German oak beats my teeth and palate in the resistance stakes.
Can you imagine an old cartoon where the teeth do a kinda mexican wave? It was a little like that. My top four were sticking 'out' rather than straight down and I lost half of one of my incisors.

I probably broke some law or something, bleeding profusely over holy furniture... same for my tutor - she was playing with us and was ill when she tried to help me up.

... I play the drums now.

Investor

Oh deep trauma !!!!!!! This was worse than my experience.
As a kid jumping off a swing when it was still moving, slipped in the mud, twisted round and the wooden seat returned to hit me in the mouth. I got a broken top front tooth and it ripped my bottom lip open.

Yes, more blood came out than I thought I had in my whole body!