On October 2nd, 2020, Proposed Regulations concerning the “Achieving a Better Life Experience” Act of 2014, or ABLE accounts, became Final. ABLE accounts help people with disabilities and their families save for and pay for disability-related expenses. The contributions to ABLE accounts are not deductible, but distributions are tax free to the designated beneficiary, so long as they are used to pay for qualified disability expenses. Qualified disability expenses include housing, transportation, health, prevention and wellness, education, employment training, technology and personal support services, and other similar disability-related expenses. The biggest adoption was that eligible individuals can now put more money into their ABLE accounts annually ($15,000/year) and roll over monies from 529 plans into their ABLE accounts, if for the same beneficiary or family member. The amount rolled over cannot exceed the ABLE account limit of $15,000 per year. Each state establishes its own regulations to make ABLE accounts available and administers its respective plan. The North Carolina state account balance limit is $450,000 and allows the first $100,000 saved in an ABLE account to be exempted from the Supplemental Security Income $2,000 limit per month (beneficiaries will still receive Medicaid if the account exceeds $100,000). North Carolina does have a Medicaid Estate Recovery statute.

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Jason Morton is a Partner in a small boutique tax law firm, Webb & Morton PLLC, with offices in both North Carolina and Virginia. He maintains the law firm’s very active

Blog, as well as maintaining a Vlog on YouTube. Jason…

Jason Morton is a Partner in a small boutique tax law firm, Webb & Morton PLLC, with offices in both North Carolina and Virginia. He maintains the law firm’s very active

Blog, as well as maintaining a Vlog on YouTube. Jason has published several featured articles with TaxNotes, the NC Bar Association Tax Section, Autism Parenting Magazine, local newspapers and most recently, working with Cointelegraph and Bloomberg Tax. Jason is also an Officer in the Army National Guard, most recently serving an active duty tour from 2016 to 2018. Most importantly, above all else, Jason is proud Autism Dad.