LTC Ta Break Bill Returns To Congress

By Matt Brady

May 27, 2005 at 08:00 PM

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Efforts to create an "above the line" tax deduction for consumer long term care insurance premium payments are back on the agenda in the U.S. House of Representatives.[@@]

Reps. Nancy Johnson, R-Conn., and Earl Pomeroy, D-N. D., have introduced "The Long-Term Care and Retirement Security Act of 2005," H.R. 2682, an LTC tax break bill based on a similar bill introduced in 2003.

The earlier bill died in the House Ways and Means Committee, but a measure that would have let taxpayers use health savings accounts to buy LTC insurance came close to passing in 2003.

In addition to creating a new tax deduction for LTC insurance premiums, the new bill would provide a tax credit of at least $1,000 for givers and recipients of long term care. Eventually, the credit would increase to $3,000.

The American Council of Life Insurers, Washington, is "encouraged by efforts to secure this integral component of retirement security for individuals facing the increasing costs of long-term care services," ACLI President Frank Keating says in a statement about the new bill. "Private long-term care insurance ensures Americans will have access to the assistance they want and need in retirement while protecting their retirement savings."

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