IRA for medical

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L1: IRA for medicalThanks for your response Badger…I was hoping that our $7000 a year medical expenses (cobra premiums, Dr. visits, and prescriptions) could come out of the “other” IRA until reaching age 59 1/2 (say $35000 in that IRA) and the monies in the SEPP IRA for living expenses until age 59 1/2. So what your’re telling me is that cobra and or private insurance premiums don’t count as “uninsured” medical expenses? Thanks! Many more questions to come before doing an SEPP.2002-04-08 19:50, By: Vicky, IP: [127.0.0.1]
L2: RE: IRA for medicalI was hoping that our $7000 a year medical expenses (cobra premiums, Dr. visits, and prescriptions) could come out of the “other” IRA until reaching age 59 1/2 (say $35000 in that IRA) and the monies in the SEPP IRA for living expenses until age 59 1/2. So what your’re telling me is that cobra and or private insurance premiums don’t count as “uninsured” medical expenses? Thanks! Many more questions to come before doing an SEPP.Maybe I was not as clear as I should have been. Everything you mention is a qualified medical expense; however, it is subject to a 7.5% AGI floor on Schedule A of your 1040. As example assume your AGI is $50,000 for a year; therefore the floor is $3750. Therefore, only $3,250 of your $7,000 qualify as a deductible medical expense. This same logic applies to withdrawing penalty free from an IRA. In a perverse kind of way, Congress has deemed that the first 7.5% of medical expense is “ordinary” & therefore not deductible; and any medical expense above 7.5% is “extra-ordinary” and is therefore deductible & withdrawable from an IRA penalty-free. Makes it kinda hard to plan.If you need some more help in this regard, feel free to drop me a note at wjstecker@wispertel.net.TheBadger2002-04-09 07:51, By: TheBadger, IP: [127.0.0.1]

L2: Thank you BadgerThank you so much Badger! That last post made it perfectly clear to me. It does make it hard to plan! So I will stick with original plan.2002-04-14 10:14, By: Vicky, IP: [127.0.0.1]