This is a guest post written by my partner, Avrom Fox, MSW.
All US citizens or permanent residents living in the US were required to have minimal health insurance coverage as of January 1, 2014. This was the requirement of the ACA which stipulated that everyone, including seniors and children were covered. If the tax filer did not have insurance coverage or qualify for an exemption, there could be a tax that must be paid on your 2014 income tax return.
Most people have health insurance through their job. Many individuals purchased their insurance through the Health Insurance Marketplace (HIM) or directly from a private insurance company such as Blue Cross. Also coverage through Medicare A, Medicaid, CHIP and most VA programs will also qualify. Anyone who had coverage for the whole year will just be required to check a box on their tax return.
Taxpayers, who bought their health insurance through a health marketplace and qualified for a reduced premium based on projected income, will file Form 8962 to calculate their actual credit and reconcile what they received to their credit. Taxpayers who didn’t have health insurance for all twelve months in 2014 will use Form 8965 to calculate their shared responsibility penalty. Taxpayers who had no health insurance will also be required to pay a penalty.
Your accountant will need documentation for the insurance you did purchase in 2014, whether through your employer, individually, or any of the other sources listed above.
