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Costs of Obama Care for American teachers
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Swampfox10mm



Joined: 24 Mar 2011

PostPosted: Tue Oct 09, 2012 8:03 pm    Post subject: Costs of Obama Care for American teachers Reply with quote

I have read some things around recently, and would like a frank discussion on this. The following article outlines costs, which I am unsure if we will be exempt from just because we work overseas.

As you can see, costs for coverage, even in the lowest bracket, skyrockets in just a few years...

www.forbes.com/sites/gracemarieturner/2012/07/24/how-much-is-the-obamacare-mandate-going-to-cost-you/

It seems that nobody knows exactly how we will be affected.
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YTMND



Joined: 16 Jan 2012
Location: You're the man now dog!!

PostPosted: Tue Oct 09, 2012 8:23 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Why would we be affected by it? Are Korean teachers in America affected by the changes in Korea?
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r122925



Joined: 02 Jun 2011

PostPosted: Tue Oct 09, 2012 8:32 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

http://www.globalsurance.com/blog/the-final-us-health-reform-package-what-you-need-to-know-66920.html

Quote:
In the new Internal Revenue Service (IRS) tax code, expatriates are treated as if they have health insurance regardless of whether they do or not. Although in order to be exempted from the insurance mandate, American expatriates must already be eligible for the IRS� foreign earned income exclusion.

In order to meet the criteria for the exclusion that allows U.S. expats to avoid paying U.S. taxes on their first US$91,500 worth of income, the expatriate must have a tax home (the general area of your main place of business or employment where you happen to be permanently or indefinitely engaged) in a foreign country, as well as be either a legitimate resident in that country, or spend at least 330 days a year outside the United States


Seems to be nothing to worry about.
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Swampfox10mm



Joined: 24 Mar 2011

PostPosted: Tue Oct 09, 2012 8:34 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

YTMND wrote:
Why would we be affected by it? Are Korean teachers in America affected by the changes in Korea?


Perhaps because this is an American policy, and not a Korean one?

Even if it did not affect long-term teachers, short-term teachers would need to pay attention to how many days they work per year, for example. Just like when figuring taxes. I do not know, but I would like to hear from anyone who does.

Penalty rates for not paying are small the first year, but balloon to several hundred, then thousands within a few years.
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YTMND



Joined: 16 Jan 2012
Location: You're the man now dog!!

PostPosted: Tue Oct 09, 2012 8:37 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Swampfox10mm wrote:
YTMND wrote:
Why would we be affected by it? Are Korean teachers in America affected by the changes in Korea?


Perhaps because this is an American policy, and not a Korean one?

Even if it did not affect long-term teachers, short-term teachers would need to pay attention to how many days they work per year, for example. Just like when figuring taxes. I do not know, but I would like to hear from anyone who does.


If we are affected, it will be many years from now and the start of the New World Order.

If you don't pay this hypothetical tax, then you are arrested and deported? That would cost a lot of money per person.

Korea is not going to do America's accounting to monitor who does and doesn't pay.
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Swampfox10mm



Joined: 24 Mar 2011

PostPosted: Tue Oct 09, 2012 8:47 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

I have met (and work with -- at the university level) tax dodgers who have not filed, nor have any intention of paying their US taxes. One guy plans to stay in Korea forever. Another went back suddenly and found he could not qualify for a house loan without tax records. I, for one, like to make sure I have filed and will not have any surprises hit me when I return home.

To simply dismiss this topic is a mistake
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T-J



Joined: 10 Oct 2008
Location: Seoul EunpyungGu Yeonsinnae

PostPosted: Tue Oct 09, 2012 9:01 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

r122925 wrote:
http://www.globalsurance.com/blog/the-final-us-health-reform-package-what-you-need-to-know-66920.html

Quote:
In the new Internal Revenue Service (IRS) tax code, expatriates are treated as if they have health insurance regardless of whether they do or not. Although in order to be exempted from the insurance mandate, American expatriates must already be eligible for the IRS� foreign earned income exclusion.

In order to meet the criteria for the exclusion that allows U.S. expats to avoid paying U.S. taxes on their first US$91,500 worth of income, the expatriate must have a tax home (the general area of your main place of business or employment where you happen to be permanently or indefinitely engaged) in a foreign country, as well as be either a legitimate resident in that country, or spend at least 330 days a year outside the United States


Seems to be nothing to worry about.



This topic was a concern, about two years ago.

A simple Google search will turn up countless discussion forums and expat associations from around the world that have discussed this.

Nothing to fret over if you are already overseas, unless you are planning on moving back. At which point you would be smart to get some form of insurance anyway.
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Swampfox10mm



Joined: 24 Mar 2011

PostPosted: Tue Oct 09, 2012 9:10 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Not all of us want to be lifers, and the majority of people who teach overseas plan to return home at some point. So yes, I would agree this is something to worry about for most teachers.

I have looked at links from around the web, and most start discussing the topic, but are quickly side-tracked by political rants.

I am just hoping to hear something solid, whatever that may be.
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Weigookin74



Joined: 26 Oct 2009

PostPosted: Tue Oct 09, 2012 10:48 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

I'd suggest waiting until after the election to start worrying about this.
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PRagic



Joined: 24 Feb 2006

PostPosted: Wed Oct 10, 2012 12:27 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

File your taxes. You need to file your 1040 and the 2555 (Foreign Earned Income) to get your foreign earned income exclusion. EZ versions are available and easy to fill out. You enter the income, take the exclusion, put down a big fat '0', and file.

ALSO, Treasury Department Form 90-22.1 needs to be filed separately (NOT with your taxes) to declare any foreign bank or investment account that you may have that reaches USD 10K AT ANY TIME OVER THE COURESE OF THE FISCAL YEAR. So unless you are getting paid and sending your alloted amount back to the U.S. every month, you'll need to file this form if your account reaches this limit here.

From a website <http://www.escapefromamerica.com/2011/03/declaring-your-income-and-assets-when-you-live-abroad/>:

"The good news is that if you have been reporting all of your foreign income, but have just failed to file the reporting forms such as the FBAR form (foreign bank account reporting) or Form 5471 (foreign corporations) or Form 3520 (foreign trusts-Fideiciomisos), you do not have to enter the program, but do need to file all applicable past year reporting forms in compliance with the law prior to the deadline."

For those who have investments in the US, you also need to file a 1099.

Keep on top of this stuff, whether you're a short or a long termer.
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mnjetter



Joined: 21 Feb 2012
Location: Seoul, S. Korea

PostPosted: Wed Oct 10, 2012 1:01 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Why on earth would any of this be a concern for teachers? Surely none of you expect to earn enough as a teacher to pay any taxes levied by Obamacare. In order to fall into the group that needs to pay taxes for not having medical insurance in the first place, you need to be making 4x the poverty rate as an individual (over $50k a year) or over 5x as a household (don't remember exactly, but I think it's $120k or so). Teachers in Korea and in the United States just don't make that much. Or at least, in Korea they don't, and in the U.S., if you do, your school is going to give you health insurance anyway as part of the state employee benefits package, in which case you have health insurance and you don't need to worry about the tax in the first place.

At that level of income, if you're not buying yourself health insurance, you deserve to pay extra tax so that I, as a responsible citizen who actually bothered to consider myself mortal, don't have to pay for your health care in addition to my own.

...though I personally feel that it would also be appropriate to give people the option to sign a "DO NOT TREAT IF I DON'T HAVE THE MONEY" waiver in lieu of the tax. Then they can gamble with their own health without taking my money.
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Drew345



Joined: 24 May 2005

PostPosted: Wed Oct 10, 2012 2:21 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

All I had heard before was that having foreign health insurance did NOT exclude people from having to buy Obamacare, so I was also thinking we would have to pay for it.
Thanks for the information here that being out of the country for 330 days of the year excludes us from having to buy it. I also didn't know that low income people didn't have to buy it. So most of us are double excluded. Although I'll look more into that low income requirement... since I thought the goal was to get everyone on insurance, even low income people.
Actually, I am all for Obamacare, especially now that I know that we can be excluded.
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T-J



Joined: 10 Oct 2008
Location: Seoul EunpyungGu Yeonsinnae

PostPosted: Wed Oct 10, 2012 4:38 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Drew345 wrote:

Actually, I am all for Obamacare, especially now that I know that we can be excluded.


What?
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YTMND



Joined: 16 Jan 2012
Location: You're the man now dog!!

PostPosted: Wed Oct 10, 2012 5:19 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

1. Obama anything is just a term to refer to the current president's plans. It has nothing to do with established procedure.

2. In 4 more years, he definitely will be gone, and we won't say "Obama anything" anymore.

3. It will be really interesting to see how we have to provide tax paperwork when there are so many unemployed. How exactly can they tax the unemployed?

Terrible plan by the way. It's going to be funny if we ever see this plan being enforced. Money will shift hands faster than a hagwon "going out of business" Laughing
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Drew345



Joined: 24 May 2005

PostPosted: Wed Oct 10, 2012 5:34 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

What I meant was, I am all for Obamacare because, from what I heard, only one in four patients in the hospital pay their bills, and thus the bills are 4 times higher for the one who does pay, because they have to pay for all the deadbeats (that's what I heard from someone in hospital billing, not direct knowledge). So better if everyone just has insurance so everyone can just pay their own bill.
The problem is, since I don't live in America, I don't want to have to buy it for myself. It would just be throwing away money, since I don't go to any hospital in America.
So I am all for the principal of everyone in America having insurance. And I am happy I won't have to buy it since I am not there.
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