Hi Kat – I have a suggestion for the development team, too. Would you mind posting it, please?
I would appreciate it. Thank you.
Dear TurboTax Team,
I recently used TurboTax Premier 2021 (Desktop, CD version) to prepare Federal and Ohio income tax returns. My wife and I filed the returns "Jointly."
I have a suggestion, or feedback, for the TurboTax development team regarding the Medical Expense section of the Ohio tax return.
My wife was not eligible for Medicare, at any time in 2021, and she purchased her Health Insurance through the ACA Marketplace. According to the Ohio Tax Department, her cost of that insurance is reported on LINE 1 of the Ohio Unreimbursed Medical Care Expenses Worksheet. Her health insurance cost is 100% deductible on our Ohio tax return.
I was eligible for Medicare, for all of 2021, and I purchased my Health Insurance (Part-B) from Medicare. I also purchased a Medicare Supplement Plan and a Prescription Drug Plan. According to the Ohio Tax Department, my cost of those insurance plans is reported on LINE 3 of the Ohio Unreimbursed Medical Care Expenses Worksheet.
Our other unreimbursed, out-of-pocket, medical expense (misc. fees, co-pays, eyeglasses, etc.) is reported on LINE 4 of the Ohio Unreimbursed Medical Care Expenses Worksheet.
The total of my health insurance cost (Line 3) plus our other out-of-pocket medical expense (Line 4) is reported on LINE 5 of the Ohio Unreimbursed Medical Care Expenses Worksheet.
If the total (Line 5) of my health insurance cost and our other out-of-pocket medical expense is greater than 7.5% of our Federal AGI, the amount that exceeds 7.5% is deductible on our Ohio return. If the total is less than or equal to 7.5%, it is not deductible.
The TurboTax "Step-by-Step" questions do not make those entries very easy. To accurately report those expenses on the correct lines of the Ohio Unreimbursed Medical Care Expenses Worksheet (Lines 1, 3, and 4), I had to manually enter them in the "Forms" section of TurboTax.
TurboTax starts the Ohio Medical Expense "Step-by-Step" section with the question: Employer-Paid or Medicare health Insurance? We need to know if, in 2021, were you eligible to participate in any Employer-Paid or Medicare health insurance plan? Indicate below how long you were eligible to participate in an Employer-Paid or Medicare health insurance plan, even if you did not participate. The answer choices are: The entire year, Part of the year, or None of the year.
The answer choices are fine for one person, or if my wife and I have the same Medicare eligibility status. But, the answers do not accommodate both of our situations: She was not eligible for Medicare, but I was. Her insurance cost is 100% deductible. My insurance cost, plus our other medical expense, is only deductible for the amount that exceeds the 7.5% AGI threshold.
For a filing status of Married Filing Jointly, the "Step-by-Step" Ohio Medical Expense question should be asked twice, once for her and once for me... OR, it should be more detailed and specific to accommodate both of our Medicare eligibility situations.
The TurboTax "Step-by-Step" Ohio Medical Expense section could be redesigned, or reformatted, to accomplish all of the following:
- Pull her ACA Marketplace Insurance premium cost from the Federal 1040, Form 1095-A, and enter that amount on Line 1 of the Ohio Medical Expense Worksheet.
- Pull her Premium Tax Credit (PTC) reconciliation result (Repayment or Refund) from the Federal 1040, Form 8962, and also enter that amount on Line 1 of the Ohio Medical Expense Worksheet.
- Enter my Medicare-related insurance premium costs on Line 3 of the Ohio Medical Expense Worksheet.
- Enter our other unreimbursed, out-of-pocket, medical expenses on Line 4 of the Ohio Medical Expense Worksheet.
And, the "Step-by-Step" Ohio Medical Expense section should let us see all of those amounts, itemized in one window, so we can verify their accuracy. For example:
ACA Marketplace Insurance Premiums (Paid): $3,000 (Ohio Medical Expense Line 1)
Premium Tax Credit Repayment (Owed): $300 (Ohio Medical Expense Line 1)
Premium Tax Credit Refund (Overpayment): $0 (Ohio Medical Expense Line 1)
Medicare-Related Insurance Premiums (Paid): $2,000 (Ohio Medical Expense Line 3)
Other Out-of-Pocket Medical Expense (Paid): $2,000 (Ohio Medical Expense Line 4)
I've been using TurboTax for several years. It is a great product! But, I hope you consider my suggestion to make it even better.
Thanks for listening.
