LASIK St Louis | LASIK Cost
When considering the cost of LASIK, there’s more than meets the eye. In fact, vision correction is one of the best ways you can stretch your dollars.
Each treatment we have available at Brinton Vision is considered a qualified, tax-free medical expense. What that means is that you get more bang for your buck when it comes to LASIK.
Compare, for example, a procedure costing a total $6,400 and a cruise, motorcycle, or basement remodel that costs the same. If you spend $6,400 for a cruise, motorcycle, or basement remodel, you have to actually earn about $10,000 at work because taxes are taken out. However, if you spend $6,400 on LASIK or another procedure, you only have to make $6,400.
There are three primary ways you can take advantage of the tax-advantaged status of the cost of LASIK or a LASIK alternative procedure:
FSA Account: In 2018, you and your employer can contribute up to $2,650 in pre-tax employee contributions and matching funds to an FSA. Check with your employer for the deadline to declare your contribution; often it is in October or November of the prior year.
The entire amount of your declared contribution and matching funds becomes available to you January 1, even though you contribute throughout the year. The catch is that you must use all of your contribution by a set date (usually December 31, but sometimes April 15 or June 1). If you don’t use it, you lose it. Neither your funds nor your employer’s matching funds roll over.
Save money on LASIK with FSA!
HSA Account: If you have an HSA account in 2018, you can contribute up to $3,450 for an individual, or $6,850 if you have a spouse or children/dependents. Like an FSA account, those contributions can come from pre-tax contributions from you, or from matching funds provided by your employer.
Unlike an FSA which has a deadline to declare your contributions, you can elect to put money in your HSA any time. For example, if you decide today that you want to start an HSA, you can tell your employer today that you want to contribute. You can choose to put as much as you would like in at any time. Because it comes from pre-tax funds, a contribution of the full $6,850 would only cost you about $3,905 in after-tax pay. You can also elect to spread out your payments over the year.
One of the biggest benefits to having an HSA account is that you can save for a procedure. If you know you want to invest in clear, natural vision in the next couple of years, you can budget your HSA contributions to cover it. Budgeting for a procedure gives you more control over your financial—and vision—future.
Should you leave your workplace for retirement or for another job, the funds you have contributed to an HSA go with you. You don’t lose your contribution, and you don’t lose matching funds contributed by your employer.
Tax Write-Off: In 2018, tax law says that you must spend more than 7.5% of your gross income (AGI) to deduct expenses from your taxes. Say, for example, that you accumulate $1,100 of other medical expenses throughout the year, then spend $6,400 for a LASIK procedure. That means you’ve spent $7,500 on medical expenses. That’s 7.5% of an income of $100,000.
Depending on your total medical expenses, chances are good that you may be able to deduct your expenses and save a significant amount on your taxes.
Of course, these suggestions are based upon what patients have told us, and what we have seen for ourselves in our practice. There are many individual factors, and only your tax professional can give you definitive financial advice.
To find out if you are a candidate for crisp, clear, natural vision, schedule your comprehensive Brinton Vision Ocular Analysis by clicking here. Life doesn’t have to be experienced from behind glasses.