Trump has done what the Supreme Court refused to do and wiped out the penalty for not having health insurance.  It appears to be effective for the 2016 1040s that we are currently in the process of preparing.

Major Blow to Obamacare Mandate: IRS Won’t Reject Tax Returns That Don’t Answer Health Insurance Question

Unfortunately, this isn’t retroactive to previous years, so no refunds will be allowed for the penalties already paid in.  But, those amounts were much smaller than the penalty is scheduled to be for 2016 and future years. However, people who have not yet filed earlier year (2015 and back) returns can most likely now skip that penalty when they get around to filing them.

Update: IRS statement on this issue.

IRS deadline extended for ObamaCare customers sent the wrong tax form – As I explained earlier, IRS is encouraging people who may have incorrect ObamaCare info to file for an extension (Form 4868) until October 15.  Hopefully, the correct data will be available by then.

Scammers Are Working OverTIme:

If A Caller Says, ‘I Am With The IRS,’ He’s Not – From NPR

Don’t be Fooled, Phone Scams Continue to Be Serious Threat Nationwide – From IRS.

Luckily, we haven’t yet had any tax returns that involved the new ObamaCare 1095 tax forms.  I had taken some webinars over the past several months on how to deal with them; but those all assumed that the 1095s that clients would be receiving would be accurate.  They didn’t take into account the learning curve (aka incompetence) of this new government involvement in our health care, as described by Michelle Malkin in this article.

 Obamacare’s 1095-A Nightmare

A perfect name for it.

ObamaCare’s Frankenstein Tax Monster Awakens

Dealing with all of the new forms and other info we need to report on tax returns is confusing enough with accurate data. It makes things worse when the source documents are screwed up, as seems to be the case for hundreds of thousands of  people we know about.

Covered California Sends Out Nearly 100,000 Tax Forms Containing Errors, Others Deal With Missing Forms

Obama administration sent 800,000 HealthCare.gov customers incorrect tax forms 

White House Seeks to Limit Health Law’s Tax Troubles

Millions to owe Obamacare tax penalty

Considering how easily anyone can claim an exemption from the penalty for not having proper health insurance coverage, it will be interesting to see how many people volunteer to actually pay it. I certainly don’t expect any of our clients to do so.

Similar to the info and documentation we have to get from clients claiming the EITC, NATP has produced this three and a half page checklist for info we need to get for the ObamaCare credit and penalty.

As has been the case for decades, our rulers in DC can’t resist the temptation to make everything more complicated.  Tax pros who worry about losing clients to do it your-selfers, it’s just the opposite. 

IRS warns of delays if U.S. Congress fumbles tax ‘extenders’

 

Health law waivers: Too complicated to claim?

From Greatland:

Businesses Face Learning Curve on new IRS Rules for Affordable Care Act Reporting for 2015

 

Greatland offers information, guidance on 1094 and 1095 forms

 

Grand Rapids, Mich., Oct. 7, 2014 – While businesses are preparing to issue W-2s and 1099s for the past year, they’ll also need to start learning about IRS forms 1094 and 1095 in preparation for the 2015 tax year and beyond.

 

Greatland, one of the country’s leading providers of W-2 and 1099 products for business, is offering information about the forms, reporting requirements and suggestions on how to avoid penalties once filing is required next year.

 

According to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), the Affordable Care Act requires employers to file annual information returns with the IRS and furnish statements to employees on health plan coverage information beginning in 2016 (for reporting on calendar year 2015).

 

Information is reported by insurers and self-insured employers to individuals using Form 1095-B or, if the employer is also subject to the employer shared responsibility provisions due to its status as an applicable large employer, Form 1095-C. The employer must also provide all Forms 1095-B or 1095-C, as applicable, to the IRS in packages using the appropriate transmittal form.

 

“We expect to see an increase in enforcement next year and failure to comply may result in reporting penalties,” said Bob Nault, Greatland’s CEO. “These forms will essentially serve as a proof of coverage for employees, so it’s imperative for businesses to be familiar with this change and ready for next year.”

 

Below is a summary of each new form related to the Affordable Care Act:

 

• Form 1095-B—Health Coverage

Insurers and self-insured employers that provide health plans are required to report on the individuals who are covered by their health plans. These providers will furnish each primary insured with Form 1095-B that will indicate the months during the calendar year that the insured and his or her family members had coverage under the plan.

 

• Form 1094-B—Transmittal of Health Coverage Information Returns

Form 1094-B is the transmittal form for Form 1095-B.

 

• Form 1095-C—Employer-Provided Health Insurance Offer and Coverage

Employers with 50 or more full-time employees (including full-time equivalent employees) are required to report whether or not they offered health coverage to their employees by providing each full-time employee with Form 1095-C. This form asks for information such as whether the employee was offered coverage and for which months and the employee’s share of the lowest cost monthly premium for self-only minimum value coverage. A large employer with a self-insured plan will only be required to submit Form 1095-C, as the information in Form 1095-B can be included in Form 1095-C.

 

• Form 1094-C—Transmittal of Employer-Provided Health Insurance offer and Coverage Information Returns

Form 1094-C is the transmittal form for Form 1095-C.

 

To avoid penalties, businesses must be aware of timing for this new requirement. Form 1095-B or Form 1095-C, as applicable, must be provided to employees by January 31, similar to W-2s. This means that statements for 2015 must be provided no later than February 1, 2016 (because January 31, 2016 is a Sunday).