When filing your 2014 federal income tax return, you will see some changes related to the  Affordable Care Act. Millions of people who purchased their coverage through a health  insurance Marketplaceare eligible for premium assistance through the new premium tax credit,  which individuals chose to either have paid upfront to their insurers to lower their monthly  premiums, or receive when they file their taxes.

When you bought your insurance, if you chose to  have advance payments of the premium tax  credit, the Marketplace estimated the amount based  on information you provided about your  expected household income and family size for the year.  If you received the benefit of advance credit payments, you must file a federal tax return and  reconcile the advance credit payments with the actual premium tax credit you are eligible to claim  on your return.  You will use IRS Form 8962, Premium Tax Credit (PTC) to make this comparison and to claim the credit. If your advance credit payments are in excess of the amount of the premium tax credit you are eligible for, based on your actual income, you must repay some or all of the excess when you file your return, subject to certain caps.

If you purchased your coverage through the Health Insurance Marketplace, you should receive Form 1095-A, Health Insurance Marketplace Statement from your Marketplace. You should receive this form by early February.

Form 1095-A will provide the information you need to file your taxes, including the name of your insurance company, dates of coverage, amount of monthly insurance premiums for the plan you and other members of your family enrolled in, amount of any advance payments of the premium tax credit for the year, and other information needed need to compute the premium tax credit.

Using a tax professional is the best way to file a complete and accurate tax return. We can guide you through the maze of forms and explain how the Premium Tax Credit could affect your 2014 tax return. 

For more information about the Affordable Care Act and filing your 2014 income tax return, just give us a call 828.277.4177!