Albertans Could Double Their Health Tax Savings!

The Alberta government officially said goodbye to the health tax in their recent budget effective January 2009, joining seven other provinces and territories (New Brunswick, Northwest Territories, Nova Scotia, Nunavut, Prince Edward Island, Saskatchewan and Yukon) that don’t collect specific health premiums or taxes. These provinces fund healthcare out of general tax revenue.

So, what is an Albertan to do with their new found wealth?  After all, each resident is looking at savings in the range of $528 per individual and $1,056 per family.  It is a great amount to use on a new television or perhaps a BBQ for summer entertaining.  But if they are self-employed, like so many other Albertans working in the oil and gas industry, they could be putting these funds into a Health Spending Account to maximize the return.

If you think about the money they are receiving back as part of their total budgetary spending, they could simply deposit the equivalent into a Private Health Services Plan.  There are several HSA suppliers in Alberta who would be happy to take the money for them and in return, the taxpayer now has access to a reserve of funds to keep themselves and their family healthy.  The big perk, they can double dip on the tax break they receive by making it yet another tax deduction for themselves as a PHSP.  Brilliant!

I hope all self-employed Albertans will think about this as an option.  It might be a small amount of money you are getting back, but it is still a great way to make it work for you long-term.