Dear Clients, This is a very important change that will be effecting your 2014 tax return. Please let us know if you have any questions!!! One of the primary objectives of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) is to dramatically expand health insurance coverage for individuals who are currently uninsured. Starting in 2014, ACA generally requires taxpayers to pay a penalty with their individual income tax returns, unless they have qualified health plan coverage for themselves and their dependents, or they meet a specific exemption. During the preparation of your federal income tax return, we will need to see evidence that every member of your household included on your tax return is covered by a qualified health plan. 1. If you purchased your health insurance through the federal or state healthcare Marketplace, you should receive a Form 1095-A from the marketplace by January 31, 2015. 2. If you are covered by a qualified employer sponsored health plan, you may receive a Form 1095-C from your employer by January 31, 2015. 3. If you purchased your health insurance plan through a private insurance provider, you may receive a Form 1095-B by January 31, 2015. Please note that if you received coverage in 2014 under an employer sponsored health plan or you purchased health insurance coverage through a private insurance provider you may not receive Forms 1095-B or 1095-C by January 31, 2015 as reporting of this coverage is voluntary for plan year 2014. The IRS is encouraging voluntary reporting of this information to covered individuals. Accordingly, should you not receive the above mentioned reporting forms, it will be necessary for you to provide our office with documentation of your health insurance coverage for the entire year. The ACA established exemptions from the individual insurance mandate penalty. Some exemptions are claimed on the tax return, while some require an application through the Marketplace. An exemption obtained through the Marketplace has a unique Exemption Certificate Number (ECN). This number is required to report on the new Form 8965, Health Coverage Exemptions. There is no ECN electronic application. You will need to complete the application and wait to receive the ECN in the mail in approximately two to three weeks. You can obtain the application at Healthcare.gov. The ACA has placed many requirements on taxpayers but the requirements do not stop there. As your tax professional, we are required to conduct sufficient due diligence to determine your coverage is sufficient to not warrant the penalty assessment. Your return will require additional time and computation with the possibility of more than six new tax forms added to the filing for 2014. Without question, return preparation time will be increased as well as time to consider all the aspects of how the ACA will impact you. We understand that these new reporting requirements may be cumbersome during the implementation of provisions of the ACA; thus, should you have any questions concerning these new reporting requirements, please contact us for additional clarification.
Posted on: Wed, 31 Dec 2014 19:26:54 +0000
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