Did you file your tax forms correctly this year or were you part of the 1.8 million households that might not receive a tax subsidy for health insurance next year because you didn’t? Each year there are different tax laws and stipulations that make a tax accountants job difficult to say the least. This year tax accountants found themselves faced with having to help millions of Americans submit their forms to verify they had health insurance so they did not incur a penalty. The problem is if the filings were not correct or if their were no filings and the individual received a subsidy or tax credit to help with their health insurance they might not be eligible to receive one in 2016.
An article on Yahoo Finance stated, “The national average for a subsidy is $272 a month, covering roughly three-fourths of the premium” The IRS has been reaching out to consumers with tax issues and will reach out again this fall right before open enrollment starts. An estimated 16 million people have gained health insurance since the ACA started. John Koskinen, IRS Commissioner, said that tax-filing season went relatively smoothly, but agrees that there needs to be more education.
This is a learning curve for everybody and up until this point I personally feel that it has been sink or swim. There isn’t much out there to educate consumers on how the ACA works. When you simply scratch the surface there is more to it than you think, but dig deeper and you’re in for a whirlwind of confusion. More education on the matter would greatly benefit the American people so that we can truly use and embrace the new healthcare benefits.
Do you understand how subsidies, tax penalties, and tax filing works? If you do where have you educated yourself, and if you don’t what do you think would be a good way to help educate fellow Americans like yourself? Read the full article on Yahoo Finance HERE