The Affordable Care Act and Your Taxes

The Affordable Care Act (also commonly referred to as “ObamaCare” or the “ACA”) includes several provisions that are being initiated in 2015, which will certainly affect your tax return.

In this article, we’ll take a closer look at what this means for your 2014 tax return.

Health Insurance Status

Tax returns are now required to report on your health insurance coverage status. That means that your tax return will indicate whether or not you enrolled in health insurance, as well as whether or not you used an ACA plan (through the various state and federal marketplaces). This is required for ALL taxpayers.

You will be required to show that you have had insurance starting on January 1, 2014, in order to avoid the penalty. In addition, you will need to show that you were without insurance for less than three months during the calendar year of 2014 in order to avoid penalties.

Premium Tax Credits

Your refund or amount owed may also be affected by premium tax credits. These credits will be evaluated and adjusted according to information submitted on your tax returns. If you received a premium tax credit, you will be receiving forms 1095 in the mail. Keep these forms as you will need them for the tax return process. Unfortunately for taxpayers, the issuance of these forms is optional for some entities, so it can be complicated to make sure you have all of them.

All things considered, 2015 is not the year to go it alone when preparing your tax returns. All of the factors that come into play on this year’s tax return are creating complications for software companies like TurboTax, and this is probably not the time to “give them a shot.” 2015 is a year to bring in the professionals – after all, that’s what we’re here for!

Give us a call today at 1-866-244-3517 to schedule a tax appointment. We’ve been helping families and businesses in Southern Indiana (Evansville, Newburgh, Jasper, Boonville, and beyond) for more than thirty years. Give the Baker team a try, and rest easy knowing that you have an advocate fighting for your financial interests.