Refunds from tax cut bill

[Steve H.]

Colleen -- Thanks!

 

[Toby'sFriend]

That's just how it works. If you make $25,000, you assume that families making $50,000 have plenty of cash. If you are barely making ends meet making $50,000, you think that you would be swimming in funds if you had $100,000 income. And so on and so forth.

.

Oh I can totally relate to that. But let me assure you that there our plenty of us with incomes over $100,000 that will find good use for this money.

Mine partially went to pay the Septic tank pumping guy yesterday and then I might really splurge and fix the a/c in my minivan. The rest will probably go into college funds. OTOH - I keep reading all these posts of people who are spending it on vacations and I must admit I get a bit jealous.

 

[jrmasm]

depending on where you live!

 

[HoneyPooh]

If anyone is interested GWB is on C-Span right now talking about the new tax bill.

 

[caitycaity]

jrmasm - you took the words right out of my mouth!

 

[snoopy]

$110,000 is working class here in D.C.......

 

[ryanpatricksmom]

Let's face it Snoops, $110,000 each is working class in D.C.

 

[Christine]

Snoopy-NO KIDDING. We live in a suburb of DC and work in DC. DH and I have an adjusted gross income of $124,000 last year (we have two kids). I've been in my home almost 10 years, have one car payment of $400 per month, have done a few home repairs this year (replaced carpet, replaced a couch, had my backyard regraded so it wouldn't flood, etc.). We have no vacation plans because I feel we are living paycheck to paycheck. We pack our lunches every day, don't live extravagently, and on and on and on... It kind of burns me up when someone flippantly says that anyone making over $100K really doesn't need the break. It REALLY does depend where you live.

 

[jrmasm]

It kind of burns me up when someone flippantly says that anyone making over $100K really doesn't need the break.

You aren't the only one. In fact, it's still kind of ticking me off.

Note to self: Let it go, let it go, let it go....

 

[Colleen A.]

It's apparent that a number of people are ticked at me for my comment. I am very sorry if I offended anyone. That was not my intention. I don't know what life would be like making that kind of money. It would just SEEM that things would be so much easier and that $400 wouldn't mean as much to a family with a 6 figure income than a family with a 5 figure one. If I'm wrong, I'm sorry.

 

[snoopy]

Its all relative. If you're living in an area where the homes start at $300,000 and upward, $110,000 is just above poverty level.

I'm not offended though, Colleen. Sorry to hear that your husband is still going through all the medical stuff. Sending PD that it gets better for you guys, and that you are able to spend your tax break on something special.

 

[AirForceRocks]

I agree that $100,000 in this area isn't much at all. We don't make nearly that much, but because of base housing, commissary, etc., we do fine. If we had to live out in the local economy, it would be tough, even with the additional housing $$.

 

[Christine]

Colleen--I'm not "offended" either. I just don't like off-hand remarks that are made and sometimes you just don't know the whole story. I could desparately use the $800 tax break. I used to think my DH and I made a decent living--and a few years ago that $100K per year seemed okay. I guess the cost of living has really gone up and my salary hasn't. I feel like we are constantly struggling just to keep up with necessities. I thought, just the other day, "why do I feel so poor?" because I really do. A lot of that has to do with my son's (and my) medical expenses. He has asthma and has been hospitalized and his specialist is out of my plan. I pay a lot of out-of-pocket expenses that I cannot claim on my taxes because they don't quite meet the 7.5% of my income rule. I guess I just get my hackles up when I get "generalized". I would hate to lose a needed tax cut because everyone thought $100K was "wealthy." It really does depend on where you live.

 

[tnkrbell]

I think the more you make the more you spend! So it never seems like "enough" even though in reality we know it should be enough. Enough meaning sheltar food clothing.
But everyone would like to have an extra 400.00

 

[jfulcer]

Originally posted by Christine
He has asthma and has been hospitalized and his specialist is out of my plan. I pay a lot of out-of-pocket expenses that I cannot claim on my taxes because they don't quite meet the 7.5% of my income rule.

Christine..... not meaning to butt in or ask about something you may have tried before but...

I used to work for a large national insurance company and know the ins and outs of in network, out of network and lots of other things I didn't really want to know about.

Have you really <i> tried</i> to argue with your insurance company about the costs? I mean, like calling them daily, sending letters, having all your other doctors extol the virtues of this doctor (in writing), etc?? And be NICE about it.

The standard answer is 99.9% of the time "NO" they won't pay the bills, but in this case a squeaky well <i> can</i> get the grease. It pays to keep trying, to appeal any denials, etc...

The standard claims adjusters won't help you - you need to go further into the red tape. I don't envy your situation.

 

[Christine]

jfulcer,
I have to admit that I have not done all the things you suggest. The main reason is that there probably IS someone in my plan who could/should be able to do the job just as well--in theory! The problem is that I haven't been able to find that person. Honestly, my son has a very basic case of asthma and I am a little more than preturbed that my pediatrician ENTIRE staff of physicians could not follow him properly and did not want to bother with it once he ended up hospitalized. These people that I know go to are very expensive. I visit them 4 times per year. Each visit is billed to my insurance at approximately $475 and I end up paying about $260 for each visit. Last year it was really bad because I had the hospitalizations, their hospital fees, and the follow up visits. This year he is more stable so my out of pocket expenses, just for that doctor, will *only* be about $1,000. The fault really lies with me because I probably need to get more pushy and visit some other pediatricians in my area to find one that will work with his asthma at a much cheaper cost. I know there is one out there, but the effort to find one is just too much. Especially when most won't consult with me, want to set up appointments, each "well" appointment takes about 1 month to get, yada, yada, yada.... BUT, the expensive asthma specialist has been in negotiations with my insurance carrier for almost 2 years trying to get a contract. I just keep hoping...

 

[caitycaity]

dh and i make about $110,000 gross and we can't afford a single family house where we live (in the maryland suburbs of dc). we have only one car (ford taurus, 4 years old) and we live in a 2br apartment. we also live paycheck to paycheck. we actually had $500 in savings at the beginning of the year, but we owed a lot of money in taxes this year so that wiped that out (and then some). i was supposed to start grad school in the fall full-time, but i have to go part-time for the first year now because we just can't afford to lose my salary.

christine -- i am always whining to dh about how i hate how expensive things are here and how i want to leave. we have a lot of school and personal debt, and when we pay that off we won't be living paycheck to paycheck like we do now (we don't have any kids), but i know the feeling. it doesn't seem right that someone who is frugal who has a household income in the 6 figures should have to live paycheck to paycheck. i get that "poor" feeling a lot.

 

[Kevin&Becky]

Remember the $110k income level is AGI (Adjusted Gross Income), from last years tax return. This is not your Gross income per year. AGI is after your pre-tax deductions from your pay checks. Things such as your portion of your health care premiums, 401k deductions, Flexible Spending accounts, and it is actually after IRA contributtions. For instance just because you make 60k and your spouse makes 60k per year does not meant your AGI is 120k. Check your tax forms from last year....

Check this link for some more info on the tax cut package.


http://money.cnn.com/news/specials/taxcut/

Kevin

 

[ryanpatricksmom]

Actually, your AGI is before the itemized or standard deduction.

 

[jfulcer]

Christine,

I think your first problem is with your pediatrician. Even though they may have wanted you to go to an Asthma doc, they still should have been able (even if just at a basic level) to help him out. If our pediatrician pulled this, I know DW would be looking for another doctor that actually followed through and did what we are paying him to do.

On the flip side even with there being 'in-network' asthma docs, if other physicians see this Doc as being a very good doc, and he's actually in talks to join the network, you have a much better chance of getting additional fees waived. Doing some research on the other Asthma docs and seeing how they 'stack up' to your current doctor would be beneficial to present to the insurance company also.

Good luck!