You Need to Know This BEFORE You Do Your Tax Returns:

The following information is from the Internal Revenue Service and the Dept. of Health and Human Services:

The 2015 tax season is the first time individuals and families will be asked for some basic information regarding their health insurance on their tax returns.

• When you file your tax return, you’ll need to check a box to indicate that you and your family had health insurance for all of 2014. Types of health coverage necessary to meet the Affordable Care Act’s standards (Minimum Essential Coverage) include:
  • Most job-based plans, including retiree plans and COBRA coverage
  • Medicare Part A or Part C
  • Medicaid
  • The Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP)
  • Most individual health plans you bought outside the Marketplace, including “grandfathered” plans. (Not all plans sold outside the Marketplace qualify as minimum essential coverage.)
  • If you’re under 26, coverage under a parent’s plan
• It’s important to note that filing electronically is the easiest way to file a complete and accurate tax return.  Last year, approximately 85 percent of taxpayers e-filed.  Electronic Filing options include free Volunteer Assistance, IRS Free File and professional assistance.

• Learn more about taxes if you had 2014 health coverage from another source
• IRS Resource Guide:  Health Care Law: What’s New for Individuals & Families

• It’s very important to wait for your Form 1095-A to arrive before you file your taxes.  If you haven’t received a Form 1095-A by early February, you should contact the Marketplace Call Center at 1-800-318-2596. TTY users should call 1-855-889-4325.
• When you get your Form 1095-A, you should check the information on your form - such as the number of people in your household – for accuracy.
• If you find an error on your Form 1095-A, you should call the Marketplace Call Center at 1-800-318-2596 to find out how to get a corrected form.
• You should keep your Form 1095-A with your other important tax information, like your W-2.

• If a tax credit lowered your monthly premiums for health insurance in 2014, you will use your Form 1095-A to input some basic information when you file your taxes.
  • When you signed up for health insurance, you had to estimate your income for 2014. Your estimated income determined the size of your tax credit.
  • Now that tax time is here, you need to compare your estimated income with your actual income – and this could impact the final amount of your tax credit.
  • If your income or household size changed throughout the year, it could impact the final amount of your tax credit.
  • You may see a smaller refund or owe money back if you underestimated your income.
  • You may also get a bigger refund if you overestimated you income.
  • If you owe money back, there are several repayment options available.  For example, if you are unable to pay immediately, you may be eligible for a payment plan or an installment agreement.
  • If you did not receive a tax credit to lower your monthly premiums in the Marketplace, you can visit HealthCare.gov/taxes/tools/ to get information you’ll need to enter into your tax forms to see if you might qualify.
• If your Marketplace coverage started partway through 2014 and you were uninsured earlier in the year, or if you were uninsured for only a short period of time during the year, you may be eligible for an exemption from the requirement to have health coverage.
  • You can claim the exemption on your tax return when you file.  The process is fast and easy.  You’ll simply select the exemption that applies to you and enter the corresponding code.

• You can claim most exemptions on your tax return, but some exemptions are only available through the Marketplace.
• There are a variety of exemptions available, including if:
  • The cost of coverage was too expensive.  This applies to you if the lowest priced plan available to you would have cost more than 8 percent of your income. Visit HealthCare.gov/taxes/tools to get information you may need to claim the exemption for coverage being unaffordable to you in 2014.
  • You were uninsured for only a short period of time.
  • You experienced a hardship, such as if you had medical expenses that resulted in substantial debt, if a close family member passed away, or if you experienced domestic violence, among other hardships.  You will need to apply to the Health Insurance Marketplace to qualify for this exemption.
  • For a complete list of exemptions and more information, read Information about Health Insurance Marketplace exemptions, or visit HealthCare.gov/taxes.
• When you file your taxes, you will enter information about the months you had coverage and any exemptions you qualify for on your tax forms.
• If you could have afforded coverage in 2014 but chose not to buy it - and you don’t qualify for an exemption - you will have to pay a fee with your federal tax return.
  • The fee is based on your income, and how many months you didn’t have coverage.
  • If you didn’t have health coverage for all of 2014, you’ll pay the higher of $95 per adult and $47.50 per child, who didn’t have coverage, limited to a family maximum of $285, or 1% of your income, subject to certain caps.

• If consumers have questions about their taxes, need to download forms, or want to learn more about the fee for not having insurance, they can find information and resources at www.IRS.gov or www.healthcare.gov/taxes. They can also call the Marketplace Call Center at 1-800-318-2596.
• Some people who signed up for health insurance through the Marketplace can get free tax assistance. For more information, visit www.IRS.gov/freefile or www.IRS.gov/VITA.