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@Abby Normal @kathyc2 @mcb39 You all just made my point. The ACA was supposed to make healthcare more affordable, and it did the opposite. That is not opinion, that can be searched on any website and proven out. Prices still went up after the ACA became law by about 20% per year, but the Federal Government started paying some of the extra cost. The pandemic hit and the cost continued to go up (labor costs skyrocketed for healthcare workers) and the Federal Government stepped in and paid more. Demand is up because the prices paid by the people getting the insurance were artificially low. The price of health insurance is not going to go down, the corps that run our healthcare are not in the mood to take them down and the shareholders will punish the stock price if they do. There will be a lot of sticker shock in November when people renew their insurance on the insurance marketplace. There will be some that will be forced onto Medicare, some that never really qualified that will now have to prove they qualify and won't get subsidies, and then there are the folks that cannot afford to pay for the coverage. I expect to see a lot of dissatisfaction with Healthcare Insurance, perhaps even anger, when the new year enrollment periods open. Congress never seem to learn that when the Fed Government subsidizes something, the prices don't go down, because demand goes up and the law of supply and demand always comes into play. Tom Longview, TX

Why didn't they just raise the $32K ($25K) used to determine if any of SS was taxable, and the $12K ($9K), used to determine how much was taxable? I have been preparing taxes for over 20 years and don't remember them ever being raised. Adjust these amounts for past inflation now, and then adjust yearly to avoid this issue in future years instead of using this band-aid approach.

I don't judge my clients or their choices. I only recommend, advise and explain the law. They aren't going to stop gambling just because we tell them it is a bad choice. IMO

I am still filing 2021 just to get my clients up to date. The most recent ones had refunds that they will never see. What is fair about that? If they owed, they owed interest and penalties regardless of the window.

Excruciating for self=employed people then. I remember deductibles that kept climbing right along with premiums. We had to pay in order to protect what we had and never collected any benefits. I worked a part-time job just to pay for health insurance premiums and the deductible was always higher than the bill.

Perhaps someday Billionaires will realize that they are standing on our shoulders

From IRS 2022 published tax return data: 7.9M returns had PTC for a total cost of 54B which works out to 6,853 per return 594K returns with AGI over 1M, had a QBI deduction of 95B. Assuming a 35% rate, that's 33.3B of tax or 55,992 per return. Millionaires did fine before QBI. But they were the ones that needed "help".

If only that were the case. It goes much further both disqualifying some completely, making it harder and more burdensome to enroll and making it much more expensive. If this doesn't lead to universal healthcare, then there's no hope for us.

Ah, yes back to corporate healthcare focused on maximizing the profits of Insurance companies and pharmacy benefit managers. Back to rural hospitals and local pharmacies going out of business. Back to the U S A with the highest per person healthcare costs in the world.

I remember before ACA insurance premiums were 15% of my gross income. I remember rates increasing on average 10% a year. I remember calculating that at some point I wouldn't be able to continue paying them without taking money from retirement accounts. I remember researching putting assets in a trust so a prolonged hospital stay wouldn't wipe me out if I could no longer afford payments. So, instead of saying people should remember what "normal" ACA is, how about remembering what some of us went through before it was enacted? Would you like me to remember back further when my Dad had cancer and the small company Mom worked for changed carriers and they refused to enroll him?

More details here: https://www.kff.org/policy-watch/how-will-the-2025-budget-reconciliation-affect-the-aca-medicaid-and-the-uninsured-rate/

If my memory serves correctly, those enhancements to the program by the previous administration were supposed to be temporary because of the pandemic. So now there is no more pandemic, and we go back to normal Obamacare, which a lot of folks forgot what it was like. Tom Longview, TX

Medical debt is already one of the leading causes of personal bankruptcy

So they have 6 months to reflect upon their bad choices and change their behavior before the new rules take effect?

Depends on extensions and filing dates. If you filed 10/15/22 with an extension, the window is still open.

I think that horse is a jackass.

This is one HUGE step backwards. I was talking to a friend, with a family of 4 paying $400/month for a great plan. Now, she'll pay more for a less great plan, if she can even afford it all. She was opposed to Obamacare when it started but now she loves it. Or, should I say, loved it. A lot of people are going to feel a lot of pain.

Yep. I pointed that out months ago. No more subsidies for anyone over 400% FLP. Can't repeal it outright, so death by 1000 cuts. Also not being talked about is clean energy credits end 9/30/25 and residential energy credits end 12/31/25.

To me, it seems like a reversal of why partial SS income was being taxed in the first place. This appears to benefit high income taxpayers and does nothing for low income taxpayers who did not pay tax on SS income anyway.

If you have clients who buy their health insurance through one of the Marketplace Exchanges there are a number of changes. The annual enrollment window has been shortened by one month No more automatic re-enrollment - everyone will have to resubmit all of their documentation every year. The Premium Tax Credit repayment cap will expire at the end of this year. The Enhanced Premium Tax Credit also expires at the end of this year. So far Congress has not renewed the large Premium Tax Subsidies paid to Health Insurance Companies to hold down the health insurance premiums of health insurance offered on the Marketplace Exchanges.

Clarification on this: They can still take 100% deduction of winning as long as losses are are 11% higher than winnings. “(1) IN GENERAL.—For purposes of losses from wagering transactions, the amount allowed as a deduction for any taxable year— “(A) shall be equal to 90 percent of the amount of such losses during such taxable year, and “(B) shall be allowed only to the extent of the gains from such transactions during such taxable year. “(2) SPECIAL RULE.—For purposes of paragraph (1), the term ‘losses from wagering transactions’ includes any deduction otherwise allowable under this chapter incurred in carrying on any wagering transaction.”. (b) Effective date.—The amendment made by this section shall apply to taxable years beginning after December 31, 2025.

Once again, JOA has done a wonderful job of taking legislative text and turning it into real language. https://www.journalofaccountancy.com/news/2025/jun/tax-changes-in-senate-budget-reconciliation-bill/

The window for claiming a refund for 2021 has closed.

Yeah, in general people don't like truth that makes them question their poor choices.

The barn door is closed on that horse