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I have a friend who at seventy four years of age still works part time.
The 'captured' image below is from her latest pay stub.
I usually do her EZ tax returns for her but not being an accountant, she has a question which I haven't found an answer to in my searches.
Medicare (FICA-HI) is taken out in her paychecks but she also pays for Medicare through her monthly Social Security benefits.
This seems to be a double payment to Medicare?
To be clear, her paychecks deduct for Medicare and before the government deposits her SS benefits to her banking account, Medicare is deducted from that too.
My question is, Can she apply to get the FICA-HI refunded on her tax return?
There's no double payment. The Medicare deduction from her paycheck is for Medicare Part A (hospitalization). The Medicare deduction from her Social Security check is for Medicare Part B which covers doctor office visits, tests, etc.
The amount taken from her paycheck is a payroll tax, it is not a payment towards her own personal insurance coverage. Everyone with earned income pays that tax, with no cap. Their employer matches it. The self-employed pay both halves.
There's no double payment. The Medicare deduction from her paycheck is for Medicare Part A (hospitalization). The Medicare deduction from her Social Security check is for Medicare Part B which covers doctor office visits, tests, etc.
There's no double payment. The Medicare deduction from her paycheck is for Medicare Part A (hospitalization). The Medicare deduction from her Social Security check is for Medicare Part B which covers doctor office visits, tests, etc.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Larry Siegel
This is incorrect. Please see Petunia's post.
Every word that I wrote is correct. Petunia's post does not conflict with anything that I wrote.
Every word that I wrote is correct. Petunia's post does not conflict with anything that I wrote.
Your post is confusing to the point of being inaccurate. The payroll deduction for Medicare tax is a tax, not a user fee. Everyone who has labor income pays it. You do not just pay it if you are over 65 and receiving Medicare benefits. It goes into the Medicare fund to help pay for everyone's Medicare expenses. It is not targeted to Part A (hospitalization) and if you don't pay the tax because you have no income or otherwise manage to avoid being taxed, you still get Medicare Part A hospitalization coverage as part of your rights as a U.S. citizen. It is not like Social Security where what you get back is based partly on what you paid in.
The Medicare deduction from her SS check is a user fee that is only charged to people who (1) are over 65 and entitled to Medicare benefits generally, and (2) elect to pay the fee and receive Part B major medical reimbursements.
Your post is confusing to the point of being inaccurate. The payroll deduction for Medicare tax is a tax, not a user fee. Everyone who has labor income pays it. You do not just pay it if you are over 65 and receiving Medicare benefits. It goes into the Medicare fund to help pay for everyone's Medicare expenses. It is not targeted to Part A (hospitalization) and if you don't pay the tax because you have no income or otherwise manage to avoid being taxed, you still get Medicare Part A hospitalization coverage as part of your rights as a U.S. citizen. It is not like Social Security where what you get back is based partly on what you paid in.
I don't know where you're getting your information, but you're wrong on a variety of things. First of all, although workers pay into Medicare, it is for Part A only. That is why once you reach the age of 65, you must choose whether to enroll in Part B. Secondly, people don't have a birth right to Medicare. With certain exceptions, you must have paid into it for 10 years (just like Social Security) in order to be eligible. You don't seem to understand what Part A is, who is eligible for it, or even the difference between how Part A and Part B are paid for. I strongly suggest that you go to the official government website, www.medicare.gov and educate yourself. And I'd do it rather quickly so you don't embarrass yourself again with the nonsense that you are posting.
With certain exceptions, you must have paid into it for 10 years (just like Social Security) in order to be eligible.
Technically it's 40 quarters. Which sounds like it should be the same as 10 years, but the difference is that a quarter is determined as a dollar amount ($1,220 for 2015) rather than a number of days.
So if you made enough money each day you could work 40 days over the course of your life (at least 10 years as no more than four quarters can be credited per year) and be eligible for Social Security and Medicare; conversely, if you made very little you could work every day for 10 years and not be eligible.
Yes, technically it is 40 quarters; but, Larry Siegel is so misinformed and misguided on just the basics of Medicare eligibility, I didn't want to confuse him further with minutia. That's why I thought I'd make it simple for him by stating that eligibility worked just like Social Security (which as you know also is 40qtrs/10yrs.)
I think the relevant point is that Medicare deductions from one's paycheck is a tax, not a deduction for one's personal Medicare coverage.
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