Thanks for the quick reply. I have read that these could be taken as an itemized deduction, but hoped that there is a way to take them as an above the line deduction without needing to itemize (and meet the 7.5 threshold). Any other result means that an employee who is not enrolled in a plan that is sponsored by their employer (where the employee's contribution is all tax-free) is placed at a disadvantage when compared to an employee who participates in an employer-sponsored plan.
