Health Care Health Care Reform and Your Taxes Read the Article Open Share Drawer Share this:Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window)Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window)Click to share on LinkedIn (Opens in new window)Click to share on Pinterest (Opens in new window)Click to print (Opens in new window) Written by TurboTaxLisa Published Sep 30, 2013 - [Updated Oct 4, 2013] 2 min read Lately you may be hearing buzz about health care reform, Affordable Care Act, or Obamacare on the news. These are the unofficial names for The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, a national health care plan signed into law by President Obama that aims to provide the majority of Americans with access to affordable health care. Not sure what this new health care law is or if it changes anything for you and your family? Don’t worry, TurboTax has you covered. Here are the facts straight from our experts. The Affordable Care Act requires that all Americans (with a few exceptions) have health insurance starting in 2014. If you have health insurance, you’re all set. 80% of Americans already have health insurance through their employer, Medicaid, Medicare, or individual insurance and are already in compliance with the new law. If you fall into this bucket, you don’t need to do anything. You’re all set. If you’re uninsured, you can shop for health insurance in the online Health Insurance Marketplace. The Marketplace, which opens October 1, 2013, helps you compare your health insurance coverage options and costs. You have until March 31, 2014 to purchase health insurance through the marketplace. If you choose not to, you could face a health care tax penalty on your 2014 tax return (the one you file in 2015). You may be eligible for financial assistance to help cover insurance cost. If you purchase your health insurance through the online health insurance marketplace or exchange, you may be eligible for a government subsidy in the form of a tax credit. Unlike most tax credits, you will not have to wait to receive the tax credit or subsidy; it will be applied to your insurance in 2014 when your coverage begins. When it comes to the new health care law, TurboTax has you covered. The requirement to purchase health insurance does NOT impact your 2013 tax return (the one you file in 2014). TurboTax is up to date with all the latest tax and health care laws so you can be confident that your taxes are done right with TurboTax. Still have questions about how the new health care law impacts you and your family? TurboTax AnswerXchange will give you answers to your personal healthcare questions. Just answer a few simple questions and it will tell you how the new law impacts you and whether you’re eligible for financial assistance, so that you can make the best choice for your health care needs and budget. To find out more about the Affordable Care Act, or Obamacare, you can also watch our video. Previous Post TurboTax AnswerXchange Gives You Personalized Answers to Your Affordable Care… Next Post Health Insurance Marketplace Opens Today! Written by Lisa Greene-Lewis Lisa has over 20 years of experience in tax preparation. Her success is attributed to being able to interpret tax laws and help clients better understand them. She has held positions as a public auditor, controller, and operations manager. Lisa has appeared on the Steve Harvey Show, the Ellen Show, and major news broadcast to break down tax laws and help taxpayers understand what tax laws mean to them. For Lisa, getting timely and accurate information out to taxpayers to help them keep more of their money is paramount. More from Lisa Greene-Lewis Follow Lisa Greene-Lewis on Twitter. 1,052 responses to “Health Care Reform and Your Taxes” « Older Comments Newer Comments » Under my former employer if I had 30 years of service and was at least 50 years of age, I would be offered retiree’s health insurance when I turned 55. I will be 55 in August. If I decide to take the health care coverage through my former employer will the premiums I pay be tax deductible? Reply Cathy, The premiums you pay for health coverage will be a medical deduction. Whether you will benefit from the deduction depends on if your total deductible medical expenses exceed 10% of your adjusted gross income and your total itemized deductions exceed your standard deduction. Mary Ellen Reply I’m married, but my wife and I file taxes separately. My income is pure SSI and amounts to less than $17,000 a year. However my wife is allowed to carry me on her insurance which means I’m covered. The IRS because of my earnings do not require me to file a return, but can get a $8,000 tax credit if I drop the insurance. Does this tax credit get directly paid to the Insurance Company I pick, or do I have to pay the premium myself and try to get the credit back from the government ? Reply i qualified for a large subsidy. when I spoke with someone through the Marketplace she told me that with this I wont receive any sort of return with my 2015 filing. I don’t think I like this. can someone please explain whats going on? Reply Hi Erin, If you normally receive a tax refund, and your tax situation doesn’t change, you will still receive that refund. The subsidy you qualify for can be used throughout the year to pay your insurance premiums, or, you can opt to pay the full premium and get an additional refund of the subsidy amount when your file your taxes in 2015. That is the refund the person from the Marketplace was talking about, not your usual refund. Reply still wondering about the tax hit next year? I fthe subsidies amount is added to you gross income??? Hi I’m running into a dilemma with the Affordable Healthcare application…if I understand correctly it seems like the application is based off of our 2012 returns… I have in the past (2012 included) claimed my mother as a dependent on my tax return but now no longer meet the requirements to claim her, so she won’t be filed as a dependent in the 2013 tax year. She currently doesn’t have any health coverage and won’t be eligible for any assistance if claimed as a dependent (per our 2012 return). Is there any way I can use our 2013 information to apply for AHC instead of having to refer way back to 2012 when our situation was a lot different (and disadvantageous to her receiving aids for health insurance)? I was wondering if she can just go ahead and apply for AHC assuming her new (unclaimed) status in 2013? OR must I apply for AHC for her as my dependent using our old 2012 information? (And also, is this still the case even AFTER I already filed my 2013 return?) Reply IF I FILE MY TAXES AS MARRIED FILING JOINTLY EVERY YEAR BUT GET INSURANCE SEPARATELY FROM MY SPOUSES JOB WILL I BE PENALIZED ON MY TAXES. THE JOB WONT RECOGNIZE US AS MARRIED BUT THATS HOW WE FILE OUR TAXES UNDER COMMON LAW OF THE STATE. HOW CAN I WORK THIS OUT? Reply Hi Bravo, If you are covered by an employer’s policy (even if it is your spouse’s employer), you don’t need to worry about acquiring more insurance. The insurance companies are supposed to be reporting who they cover, probably by social security number. Mary Ellen Reply Really confused on this tax credit. we normally get back 4ooo each year from our taxes. will the obamacare plan affect this? Reply The ACA will not impact your refund directly. If you are covered by a medical insurance plan through the marketplace for your state, you may qualify for a tax credit, or a subsidy to pay your premiums. If you underestimate your 2014 income, and receive a higher subsidy than you are actually entitled to, you will be required to repay some or all of the overage. If you are not covered for more than three months of the year, you will be subject to a penalty, and your refund may be reduced to pay the penalty. Reply I have heard conflicting reports. If I get 1300 per month in subsidies, lets say ,is that added to my taxable yearly income. If so,won’t I owe about 4,680.00 in taxes using 30% as a rate? Reply Gnarlyone, Subsidies will not be added to taxable income. If you underestimate your income, and claim more subsidy than is allowed for you, you will have to repay the excess, up to a limit which varies by income and filing status. Reply Can you clear up for me…exactly how will a healthcare tax credit affect our income tax refund? Reply My wife and I qualify for the healthcare premium subsidy and have obtained insurance using the subsidy thru healthcare.gov. We are eligible for Medicare in August and September 2014. What happens to the subsidy after the first one goes on Medicare. Also, when filing our 2014 tax return and the subsidy becomes a tax credit is it pro-rated for the months prior to Medicare? If so, how is it calculate? Reply My employer offers health insurance but it’s expensive and I can do better if I buy a plan outside of my employer. Question, plan from my employer is paid for before taxes, how does it work if I buy my own insurance outside of my employer. Do I pay for with after tax money? Reply If we don’t get insurance how would we go about paying the fee’s Reply Through your social security. Any money you ever make that can be documented, will be taken from your bank account and yes it is legal. They settled this issue in a federal court case in the past. Reply Hi Jim, Penalties for not having insurance will be calculated when you file your 2014 income tax return in 2015. The penalty is per person not covered, a minimum of $95 or 1% of your income if that amount is greater. Mary Ellen Reply Penalties for not signing up for OBummercare can be collected by the IRS only if you have a refund due on your tax return, in which case the IRS will reduce your refund by the amount of the penalty they calculate for you. Obviously, OBummercare makes over-paying ones taxes an even more ill-advised course. Is that $95 per year or per month? The $95 or 1% is per year, but it will be calculated on a monthly basis, or 1/12th per month. Actually, the penalty this year is not 1% of income but rather 1% of income over a base figure ($10K for singles, $20K filing jointly.) But as has been noted, the IRS can only collect this penalty from you forcefully by grabbing any refund you might be due on your return. It was noted recently: ‘ Justice Roberts in his argument stated quite plainly that there is no “penalty”. On Page 8 of Justice Roberts Opinon of the Court Cite 567 U.S. (2012) he states “The Act, however, bars the IRS from using several of its normal enforcement tools, such as criminal prosecutions and levies. 5000A(g)(2)” ‘ As for the penalty, ignoring for the moment the implications of the court challenges to the administrative interpretation by the DHS/IRS, avoiding it will also mean managing ones withheld or estimated taxes more carefully so that one is not left with a refund position at year’s end. Only then can the IRS pick your pocket via this penalty. Otherwise, they have under the law no recourse against you. Reply Jim, The penalty will be calculated on your 2014 tax return you file in 2015. Mary Ellen Mom is handleing finding insurance for my grown kids that. I do all accounting and taxes and budgets they work long hours so please send to personal labeled in mom name twila hayward and she will calk to check our quoteS she has our information. Thanks Reply I care full time for my aged mother and so am supported by her income and am her tax dependent. I applied as a “family” for insurance just for me, but I did not qualify for tax credit because I am a dependent. If my mother applies for insurance just for me, will she then be eligible for the tax credit? I find the rules confusing. Any thoughts on this situation would be appreciated. Reply John, The credits are dependent upon household income and family size. In your case, the household income is your mother’s income and the household size is two. Your mother is responsible for applying for insurance for the two of you, although she may not need insurance if she has coverage through other sources, such as employer, retirement or medicare. Mary Ellen Reply Is household income how you will file or who you can claim regardless if you claim them for 2013 or not? I want to opt-out and pay the penalty but want my wife covered by the exchange, both of us work and her job does not offer health coverage, Can and should we file separately to use her income alone for her coverage alone to maximize the tax credit for her coverage? Thanks in advance! Reply William, Your filing status does not impact household income. You must combine your income for determining the possible credits even if you file separate tax returns. You will also be responsible for insurance for any dependents on your tax return. Mary Ellen Reply If an employer offers coverage to employee and dependent children, but not the spouse, will the spouse qualify for a tax credit when buying through the exchange? Reply Kathy, Household income and family size will determine the size of any tax credits you may qualify for. Mary Ellen Reply I expect to be laid off early next year — January/February and plan to purchase Insurance. I have no idea what my income for next year will be in 2014. If I don’t have a ‘subsidy’ applied to my premiums on a monthly basis; CAN I collect them via my 2014 tax return? If they base the subsidy on 2013 or 2012 income, I wouldn’t be eligible, but I don’t expect my income to be anywhere near that high on 2014. I’d prefer to pay the premium, not owe anyone any money and get any credit due at the end. IS THAT possible or doesn’t anyone know? I’m sure I won’t be the only one that goes from high earner to low or zero as a result of layoff. Reply Karen- I had the same question and yahoo finance’s section directed me to healthcare.gov where deep in they explained essentially yes to your question. When one files their 2014 tax return you will be reconciling any advance credits you may have taken throughout the year (taking zero as you go is an option) against what your actual 2014 magi when filing dictates you qualifiy for. When signing up for a plan we’ll be estimating our upcoming 2014 magi to get estimated potential credit. The site says we will be able to choose to receive the estimated monthly credit in full each month or a portion of it in case we’re not confident of our estimated 2014 magi and do not want to “owe back” any money when reconcile at tax filing time. Hope that helps, I had same unease at projecting modified adjusted gross income for the coming year. Disclaimer: I’m not a tax professional but this is what I found on the website in deep. Unfortunately, I’m traveling and not good at pasting in links etc. on tiny screen so use my words at own discretion. Reply Thank you! After further consideration I more or less realized they are actually giving us an ADVANCE on anything we might be getting back as a result of having to pay better than 10% of our income toward medical. Think I’ll wait and get the refund… My husband is self-employed and I won’t have a job until August 2014. We won’t have insurance until then too. If we chose to not have insurance until Aug 2014, will we still be penalized? Reply Tiffany, You can be penalized for the months of April, May, June and July. You are not required to have insurance until April 1. Mary Ellen Reply As for the penalty, ignoring for the moment the implications of the court challenges to the administrative interpretation by the DHS/IRS, avoiding it will also mean managing ones withheld or estimated taxes more carefully so that one is not left with a refund position at year’s end. Only then can the IRS pick your pocket via this penalty. Otherwise, they have under the law no recourse against you. Reply If I have itemized on my tax return in the past and have claimed medical premiums with a private insurance company, will that remain the same for deduction on my taxes? Reply Linda, Medical insurance premiums you pay will continue to be deductible. If you purchase insurance through the exchange and receive a subsidy, you will need to reduce your deduction by the amount of the subsidy. Mary Ellen Reply I am retired and am on social security and medicare. My wife, who is retired but not yet eligible for medicare, had her own health insurance with anthem blue cross but her policy is no longer available because of Obamacare. She qualifies for a tax credit subsidy but we have a very low tax burden. How can we take advantage of the tax credit if we pay little or no tax? Reply Hi, You can take the tax credit to help you pay for your insurance in 2014, before you file your 2014 taxes in 2015. The tax credit can be applied to your monthly premiums. Thank you, Lisa Greene-Lewis Reply Yes but, CAN you take the tax credit ON the 2014 tax return rather than take it as a subsidy? If you do not apply a subsidy that you may be entitled to during the plan year CAN you get it via your tax refund at the end of the year? Again, if you don’t know what your annual income will be…and I know mine will be different in 2014 than it was in 2012 and 2013 — I assume far less. OR don’t you know? Hi, Yes, you can opt not to apply any subsidy and get it as a credit on your 2014 tax return. It will be a refundable credit, like a tax payment, even if you do not have a tax liability. Mary Ellen Daddyomommyo: I have the same question as you, How can we take advantage of the tax credit if we pay no taxes when we file? Or more specifically, do we have to pay back the credit if we used it to decrease our monthly insurance premiums, because there are no taxes owed to subtract it from on our tax return??? And I don’t see any other letter answering our question. Please can TurboTaxLisa or some other knowledgable person speak to this?? Reply let me know about this. I have the same situation Reply If you have health insurance you are all set. You don’t have to do anything. I just got notice my policy is being cancelled and I found out over 4 million others are getting the same notice. Thanks for the accurate info Lisa. Reply Hi Bernard, I’m sorry about your insurance. Unfortunately under the Affordable Care Act, insurance policies that did not meet the “minimum essential requirements” required by the law are being canceled. Read more information about what is meant by minimum essential coverage here https://www.healthcare.gov/what-if-someone-doesnt-have-health-coverage-in-2014/ Thank you, Lisa Greene-Lewis Reply Would it be operationally accurate to say some people’s income taxes can go up 100% as a result of the ACA? For purposes of my question, income tax is defined as the amount the ACA could cost someone out of their income. Thanks! Reply Probably not. Penalty for no insurance is $95. Reply The penalty is $95 OR 1% of your income above the minimum tax threshold, whichever is higher. The penalty could be many hundreds of dollars (even thousands, if you’re a highly compensated individual). Defined in this way, sure. Premiums with higher deductibles for many people are double to triple what they were paying. As for the penalty, ignoring for the moment the implications of the court challenges to the administrative interpretation by the DHS/IRS, avoiding it will also mean managing ones withheld or estimated taxes more carefully so that one is not left with a refund position at year’s end. Only then can the IRS pick your pocket via this penalty. Otherwise, they have under the law no recourse against you. Reply “If you like your current plan…………………..” UPDATE your information, or you’ll be accused of working for the Chief Executive’s propaganda branch. Reply Veterans already signed up for VA Healthcare do not have to sign up for Obama Care….VA meets the minimum requirements. Reply Ha Ha, Veteran, got letter from VA…I don’t have to sign up for the crappy Obamacare…I already have crappy Government medical coverage. Reply I’m glad there;s some intelligence in this debate, unfortunately its not in this article. You will be taxed on your health coverage, just not yet. So saying you won’t be taxed is a lie by omission. Reply Hello, Nice blog. Your article gives such an useful information about health insurance.Thanks for sharing. Reply AMEN! Finally some intelligence. Some of these people are just stupid sheep. Reply Ok so after determining that my employer’s coverage isn’t “affordable” I can now purchase from the marketplace or thru an insurance co., I already know I don’t qualify for assistance for that so my question is, if I don’t itemize will there be something to fill out for the premiums I directly because right now premiums come out of my paycheck and are pretaxed lowering my taxable income. Please advise. Reply Hi Sonia, Yes, if you itemize your tax deductions, you can deduct medical expenses including premiums paid over 10% of your AGI (7.5% if over 65). So for example, if you made $50,000, you can deduct your medical expenses over $5,000 ($50,000 x 10%). Thank you, Lisa Greene-Lewis Reply 1099 misc form is filled by the company to show the miscellaneous incomes like renting, compensation, awards, royalties and many others of the companies. Reply About all this helpful turbotax blog has done for me, is convince me that I probably ought to fine another way to do my taxes. Reply “fine” was probably a Freudian slip. Of course, I meant find. Reply Good luck with that. I’m beginning to think the same way. thanks you Reply Maybe some of you will start seeing the light. OBAMA LIED TO US!!! You will not be able to keep your current insurance because THE EGOMANIC HAS DECIDED HE KNOWS WHAT IS BEST FOR YOU!! Your rates are going up as well as your deductables. The only ones making out on this program are all the freeloaders out there. Reply It’s not the president’s fault that doctors and insurance companies are idiots. All those people care about is filling their pockets, so of course they want to screw people over out of greed. Reply I kept my insurance, Blue cross anthem! My rates went down as did my dedutibles. So I guess you are wrong, again! That’s why we’re required to buy insurance company policies?! It’s like car insurance. People have been expected to buy it for decades. It has a purpose, to save you a lot of money in Dr. bills and etc.. I really don’t understand what’s so hard to comprehend. I guess you people who are against having health insurance must love being in debt. Amen!!!!! Reply very well said Reply WOW. thanks for helping understand this issue. i was thinking it would effect my 2013 taxes!!!! Reply You can go to healthcare.gov an dget information on plans, etc. You just can’t enroll because the website is still jacked up but it does have information available. Reply I find this blog very helpful, but I do wish the admin would filter out all the political posturing. This is not the place for that. Go rant elsewhere, leave this blog for those seeking information about the current tax laws, rather than those who want to continue debating their validity. Reply My husband and I are both self employed with highly variable income and 3 kids. sometimes we may qualify for subsidies, while other times we may not. If we do not ask for a subsidy to purchase the insurance, and earnings end up falling below the threshold, can we take a credit for that difference when filing our tax returns? Reply Tamar, When you purchase insurance from the exchange, you will be given the option on how much of the subsidy to apply. If you don’t apply any of the subsidy, it will become a refundable credit on your 2014 tax return. Mary Ellen Reply If i deny insurance from my work, will I still be penalized, or taxed at the end of the year? I will be getting insurance else where. Reply If you are getting insurance elsewhere, then you answered your own question, “no.” Reply My oldest son needs insurance. He can’t even get on the website. It keeps crashing. So he will be penalized ? Even though its not his fault? And he can’t even afford groceries. How us he suppose to pay for insurance? Reply Kim, Insurance is not required until April 1. If his income is low, he will qualify for subsidies to pay for his insurance, and possibly his medical expenses. Mary Ellen Reply We buy our insurance through my wife’s employer because it is cheaper than my employers insurance. My boss has to pay $800 a year per person fine for every employee that does not buy his insurance. He is going to take that out of my check. And it goes to $1600 per year in 2015, and higher every year. Can I deduct this from my taxes or am I just screwed by Obamacare? Reply You’re not screwed by ObamaCare, you are just being screwed by your greedy selfish boss. Reply Is there any other kind? How much are you saving each year by being under your wife’s employer’s insurance? Is the savings more than what your boss will charge you? If not, then might be a good idea to stay on your employer’s insurance… Reply Is that LEGAL? I don’t think so but nothing would surprise me these days. However, I can’t believe there is a deduction on your paycheck for employer tax penalty… I thought the idea behind having an EMPLOYER pay the penalty was to convince him to provide insurance. Many employers are opting to pay the penalty because it is cheaper for THEM than it would be to provide insurance. I can’t believe they can legally force you to pay THEIR penalty via your wages. Both of you will still be responsible for SS and medicare taxes on that $800 and you will still be paying both state and federal income tax on that money as well. On the other hand I do think they could DECREASE your salary by $800 per year to offset his cost. This would make more sense for BOTH employer and employee. In that case, you would both be saving on SS and medicare taxes and you wouldn’t be paying the federal and state taxes either. Reply Companies and businesses do not care who they screw over. All they care about is their bankroll while all of us hard working citizens struggle to succeed in this chaotic world. I hear you on that one but..after further thought, I don’t understand why this guy would be penalized anyway…he’s opting out HAS INSURANCE. Why would there be a penalty? If someone has insurance elsewhere why would an employer be penalized? I’m not going to worry about this stuff — just going to get my insurance without a subsidy, hope to write it off on my taxes and PRAY, PRAY, PRAY for Divine intervention! I’ve given up on Congressional intervention! The employer will not be fined if the employee “opts out” of his insurance plan. The only way the employer gets “fined” is if the employee files for the subsidy which is not the case here (the wife’s insurance is less expensive, but not is not through an exchange, and is not eligible for the subsidy. This gentleman needs to contact his State Insurance commissioner, the State Wage and Hour Board and a good attorney! I make about $50,000 a year for a family of 5. I have insurance through my work for myself currently, however to get if for my family (even the cheapest plan) is about $1,000 a month, or $12,000 a year. That’s 24% of my income. Can I still apply for “Obamacare” even though I’m currently on my school’s insurance since I’m above the 9.5% rule? If so that means I’ve got 2 insurances at the same time. Is that a problem? Is there any way to cancel my insurance with the school I work at. The insurance policies are for 1 year but I don’t know with the new tax reform if that allows you to cancel with your current employer. Thanks. Reply My current insurance goes through September of 2014. Reply Me and my husband can’t afford the insurance he gets through work. If he drops the insurance(which he is able in december)can we look into the health insurance marketplace and still get the subsidy or i have to absolutely go with my husband’s one. If we don’t have any insurance how much our penalty will be if our income is 37,000 a year? Reply All of you people complaining need to actually read how this is going to help people. Why was it ok when bush wanted to do the same thing and the dems voted it down. Do some research before you go bitching. and some of you need to learn to spell Reply AMEN! Finally some intelligence. Some of these people are just stupid sheep. Reply “and some of you need to learn to spell” … such as failing to capitalize the B in Bush …. Reply What does it take to qualify for the tax credit? I am a 1099 employee and have to purchase my own insurance. Reply Will Texas be expanding it’s medicaid program? Reply Lisa not as long as we have Perry in office or any Rep or Tea Party for that matter..Most of us are screwed.. Reply I didn’t understand the tax credit my yearly income says I can put $248 monthly tax credit toward my health insurance to lower my monthly payment for insurance ..but I have never got that much back on fed tax refund. That’s about $3000.00. Does that mean we will get a larger tax return to help pay for health insurance?? Reply The way I understand it that will be applied to your ins monthly and you will only be out the difference every month Reply Seriously? You think that the government will make monthly contributions to your insurer? Hey Turbo Tax, how much did Obama pay you to make this awfully misleading video? Misleading in the sense that it puts a positive spin on obamacare. Reply Right you go mike Reply Thanks Mike for calling out for responsibility and integrity…woefully lacking to all of America’s peril and demise…The media and all Obama’s “pups” have cost us our very freedom and yet they continue right on worshipping at his pagan altar. NO TurboTaxLisa NobamaDon’tCare. We pay more and get less and you go right on marching in lockstep with the socialit deceiver-in-chief. Reply Oh my gods! People, our freedoms were at risk for decades. Stop putting the blame on the current president. We’d still be in a spiraling mess even if Romney was in charge. Sheep, are you suggesting that we were right to be upset and dissatisfied with previous people messing us over but we should not be complaining when this Obama idiot piles on and starts shoving garbage down our throat too? Garbage is garbage, no matter who the originator. I’m just suggesting that you people need to get your heads screwed on right. Thank you Turbo Tax for putting out straight talk on the Health Care law. The people complaining are the ones the rest of us are paying for now since they do not have health insurance and then they go to the Emergency Room and don’t pay. We / I end up paying for them. They want something for nothing. The whole concept of auto or health insurance is that everyone puts in their share and most of the time they don’t need it but ….. when we do, the whole group helps pay. Grow up and pay your way. Reply Who r u kidding? Have u looked at the exemption qualifications? Those people still won’t end up having to pay! One of the exemptions even says you may be exempt if you have a disconnect notice lol Reply Really? I must have missed that one. Can you post a link or cite a source? Thanks. TurboTaxShanneModerator 3 days ago I have also found some information for you about “exemption from the fee”. You can click on the following link and read all of the rules for exemptions. https://www.healthcare.gov/exemptions/ Reply I had to go read the link to believe it. I blew coffee out my nose. Who wrote this stuff ?? I’ll have to say I tend to agree with you. My 24 yr old daughter and her husband do have coverage through his work. It’s very expensive and they are young and just starting out, but they have a baby and NEED insurance so they are being responsible and he looked until he found a job that offered insurance. It is a huge chunk out of his paycheck. They don’t get to go out to eat much, or buy clothes or nice vehicles or drink beer or have nice cell phones. They, instead, have insurance. That is what responsible grownups do. He chose the job that offered it. Because they have insurance, they are gonna be broke for a while. But they are not asking anyone else to pay their way!!! That’s the way they were raised!! AMEN! More proof there is some intelligence left in this country. some of us don’t make enough ,when I could afford coverage I was happy to get it.now I am not able to pay for it now,it will pull from food or rent,or gas.so which would you tell me to go with out.i have looked at my options with the new health care,there are none I can afford. Reply Geez, I don’t see how people can’t grasp the concept that having insurance is A LOT CHEAPER than paying a fat Dr. and/or E.R. bill. That is a pretty ignorant comment Mr. Jim H. Reply Not really. Actually the real truth of you deadbeats. Probably slacked through school too. Now time to pay the piper! Ignorant? It’s the freaking truth. What’s ignorant is people enjoying their free ride while the rest of us have to cover your rear ends as we try to cover our own. AMEN’!!! The dead beats still will not be paying, everybody that works will be paying for them. Jim, You said it!! Good job Reply Jim, your comment is really uncalled for and untruthful to a lot! I work very hard for what little I have and have no insurance offered at where I work! I have never been to an emergency room for care in my life! I do not, like a lot of others have health insurance because it takes everything I make to pay bills and cannot afford it! How nice for you that you can afford insurance! You need to know what you are talking about before you condemn other hard working people! If you think this health care law is for the best for everyone, you need to check your facts! Reply Sounds like you better pull a 2nd job or find another job that is better and offers good benefits. It’s not that damn hard. As for not going to the ER, there’s always a first time for everything and when you get that huge ass bill, you’ll be wishing you had insurance. Allergic to sleep: there are many parts to the equation for people – work-family balance is one that is very important to many people. Paying the necessary bills for existance comes first, however, if the parent is not home because of always working, who then raises the children with ethics, personal integrity, & how to be a generally decent person? HMMM? I suppose your children are modelf of society? Yeah, I pay my bills for existence first and so forth. Life might be tough, but it isn’t that complicated. People need to stop making excuses and get their life straightened out. As for my children, I’m raising them to not be like their mother (whom is living off the government, otherwise known as the hard working tax payers money) and people like you whiners whom can’t seem to grasp logic, common sense, and intelligence. Sorry – dyslexia – My name should read — Dislikewolfinsheepclothing Allergic to Sheep, you are a self righteous troll! You have done nothing but judge everyone down the line here. You need to get another job ( been there, done that too long!) maybe you wouldn’t have so much time judging other people! You have to have intelligence to give it! Try getting some first! Your definition of a “judgemental troll” appears to be way off. Don’t get all butt-hurt over the things you can’t comprehend. Your comment appears to be more out of judgment and trolling than mine. I was basically having a conversation over what is sadly the truth and you go all “boo hoo hoo.” It is true that some of my comments were in response to the comments by trolling sheep who don’t really have anything worth saying. They just post their badmouthing on things they have no intelligence or comprehension on. if you ever get laid off or lose your job lets see how you think then jim.becouse I felt the same way you do until it happened to me.so hope you never lose your job jim Reply I work and make about 30,000 a year, my husband is to sick to work anymore but has been denied SS or SSI I am insured at work but he has no income and I can not afford to cover him. He has 3 terminal illness. am I going to be penalized for his not having insurance even though he has no income? he smokes so his coverage will be through the roof. Reply so who pays for his cigarettes??? Reply Exactly. The person smoking the cigs has obviously signed his death warrant by wanting to continue smoking and sadly she is allowing it. It’s kinda like slow suicide. But stop the cigs and she might be able to afford insurance. Do u have a job or just troll all day allergic to sheep? I have a full time job with benefits. A little over $30k/yr and no debt besides the usual bills. I am thankful for my Pension, 401K, Health Insurance, Vision, Dental, and a wife whom actually works (minimum wage) and helps keep our income straight. I have 2 daughters and 2 cars (which was a $9k loan and was paid off in 9 months). I have $425 rent that includes electric, water, trash, and gas. After paying all my bills (including credit card, car maintenance/insurance, and buying groceries) I still have over $600 in the bank. As for “trolling?” Nah, try instead, “..providing logic, common sense, truth, and intelligence…” Get some! I too say, stop the cigs and use that money to pay for insurance. You are correct, I am not a smoker, but I lost relatives because of cancer to the lungs, including my Mom! I too pay my way and am tired of the high cost of medical and auto insurance to make up for those who do not have it. Reply Thank you for making the video it very understanding. Reply All complaining is going to get any of you is a promotion. I don’t fully understand most anything that goes on when it comes to healthcare furthermore I don’t think that our law makers and insurance companies know either. I don’t know why I started reading all these comments but it helps me come to the realization that everyone is complaining of first world problems. Sorry that you can vent your frustrations through a smart phone or computer. Live your life pay your taxes and shut up about it. I just realized I am a hypocrite and am venting my frustrations through a smart phone. Just know that most Americans are suffering just like me with quadruple the debt of the amount that I have in my checking account premium cable, air conditioning and a running vehicle. Oh how I suffer. Reply Well said, and this is the last comment I will read. Reply « Older Comments Newer Comments » Leave a ReplyCancel reply Browse Related Articles Crypto Understanding Crypto and Capital Gains Work 7 Things You Need to Know About the New Business Report… Work Using Form 8829 to Write-Off Business Use of Your Home Tax Tips Roth 403(b) vs. Roth IRA: Which Should You Invest In? Life Interest Rates, Inflation, and Your Taxes Investments Essential Tax Tips for Maximizing Investment Gains Uncategorized TurboTax is Partnering with Saweetie to Elevate Hoop Dr… Business Small Business Owners: Optimize Your Taxes with a Mid-Y… Small Business The Benefits of Employing Your Children and the Tax Bre… Income and Investments Are Olympics Winnings Taxed?
Under my former employer if I had 30 years of service and was at least 50 years of age, I would be offered retiree’s health insurance when I turned 55. I will be 55 in August. If I decide to take the health care coverage through my former employer will the premiums I pay be tax deductible? Reply
Cathy, The premiums you pay for health coverage will be a medical deduction. Whether you will benefit from the deduction depends on if your total deductible medical expenses exceed 10% of your adjusted gross income and your total itemized deductions exceed your standard deduction. Mary Ellen Reply
I’m married, but my wife and I file taxes separately. My income is pure SSI and amounts to less than $17,000 a year. However my wife is allowed to carry me on her insurance which means I’m covered. The IRS because of my earnings do not require me to file a return, but can get a $8,000 tax credit if I drop the insurance. Does this tax credit get directly paid to the Insurance Company I pick, or do I have to pay the premium myself and try to get the credit back from the government ? Reply
i qualified for a large subsidy. when I spoke with someone through the Marketplace she told me that with this I wont receive any sort of return with my 2015 filing. I don’t think I like this. can someone please explain whats going on? Reply
Hi Erin, If you normally receive a tax refund, and your tax situation doesn’t change, you will still receive that refund. The subsidy you qualify for can be used throughout the year to pay your insurance premiums, or, you can opt to pay the full premium and get an additional refund of the subsidy amount when your file your taxes in 2015. That is the refund the person from the Marketplace was talking about, not your usual refund. Reply
Hi I’m running into a dilemma with the Affordable Healthcare application…if I understand correctly it seems like the application is based off of our 2012 returns… I have in the past (2012 included) claimed my mother as a dependent on my tax return but now no longer meet the requirements to claim her, so she won’t be filed as a dependent in the 2013 tax year. She currently doesn’t have any health coverage and won’t be eligible for any assistance if claimed as a dependent (per our 2012 return). Is there any way I can use our 2013 information to apply for AHC instead of having to refer way back to 2012 when our situation was a lot different (and disadvantageous to her receiving aids for health insurance)? I was wondering if she can just go ahead and apply for AHC assuming her new (unclaimed) status in 2013? OR must I apply for AHC for her as my dependent using our old 2012 information? (And also, is this still the case even AFTER I already filed my 2013 return?) Reply
IF I FILE MY TAXES AS MARRIED FILING JOINTLY EVERY YEAR BUT GET INSURANCE SEPARATELY FROM MY SPOUSES JOB WILL I BE PENALIZED ON MY TAXES. THE JOB WONT RECOGNIZE US AS MARRIED BUT THATS HOW WE FILE OUR TAXES UNDER COMMON LAW OF THE STATE. HOW CAN I WORK THIS OUT? Reply
Hi Bravo, If you are covered by an employer’s policy (even if it is your spouse’s employer), you don’t need to worry about acquiring more insurance. The insurance companies are supposed to be reporting who they cover, probably by social security number. Mary Ellen Reply
Really confused on this tax credit. we normally get back 4ooo each year from our taxes. will the obamacare plan affect this? Reply
The ACA will not impact your refund directly. If you are covered by a medical insurance plan through the marketplace for your state, you may qualify for a tax credit, or a subsidy to pay your premiums. If you underestimate your 2014 income, and receive a higher subsidy than you are actually entitled to, you will be required to repay some or all of the overage. If you are not covered for more than three months of the year, you will be subject to a penalty, and your refund may be reduced to pay the penalty. Reply
I have heard conflicting reports. If I get 1300 per month in subsidies, lets say ,is that added to my taxable yearly income. If so,won’t I owe about 4,680.00 in taxes using 30% as a rate? Reply
Gnarlyone, Subsidies will not be added to taxable income. If you underestimate your income, and claim more subsidy than is allowed for you, you will have to repay the excess, up to a limit which varies by income and filing status. Reply
My wife and I qualify for the healthcare premium subsidy and have obtained insurance using the subsidy thru healthcare.gov. We are eligible for Medicare in August and September 2014. What happens to the subsidy after the first one goes on Medicare. Also, when filing our 2014 tax return and the subsidy becomes a tax credit is it pro-rated for the months prior to Medicare? If so, how is it calculate? Reply
My employer offers health insurance but it’s expensive and I can do better if I buy a plan outside of my employer. Question, plan from my employer is paid for before taxes, how does it work if I buy my own insurance outside of my employer. Do I pay for with after tax money? Reply
Through your social security. Any money you ever make that can be documented, will be taken from your bank account and yes it is legal. They settled this issue in a federal court case in the past. Reply
Hi Jim, Penalties for not having insurance will be calculated when you file your 2014 income tax return in 2015. The penalty is per person not covered, a minimum of $95 or 1% of your income if that amount is greater. Mary Ellen Reply
Penalties for not signing up for OBummercare can be collected by the IRS only if you have a refund due on your tax return, in which case the IRS will reduce your refund by the amount of the penalty they calculate for you. Obviously, OBummercare makes over-paying ones taxes an even more ill-advised course.
Actually, the penalty this year is not 1% of income but rather 1% of income over a base figure ($10K for singles, $20K filing jointly.) But as has been noted, the IRS can only collect this penalty from you forcefully by grabbing any refund you might be due on your return. It was noted recently: ‘ Justice Roberts in his argument stated quite plainly that there is no “penalty”. On Page 8 of Justice Roberts Opinon of the Court Cite 567 U.S. (2012) he states “The Act, however, bars the IRS from using several of its normal enforcement tools, such as criminal prosecutions and levies. 5000A(g)(2)” ‘
As for the penalty, ignoring for the moment the implications of the court challenges to the administrative interpretation by the DHS/IRS, avoiding it will also mean managing ones withheld or estimated taxes more carefully so that one is not left with a refund position at year’s end. Only then can the IRS pick your pocket via this penalty. Otherwise, they have under the law no recourse against you. Reply
Mom is handleing finding insurance for my grown kids that. I do all accounting and taxes and budgets they work long hours so please send to personal labeled in mom name twila hayward and she will calk to check our quoteS she has our information. Thanks Reply
I care full time for my aged mother and so am supported by her income and am her tax dependent. I applied as a “family” for insurance just for me, but I did not qualify for tax credit because I am a dependent. If my mother applies for insurance just for me, will she then be eligible for the tax credit? I find the rules confusing. Any thoughts on this situation would be appreciated. Reply
John, The credits are dependent upon household income and family size. In your case, the household income is your mother’s income and the household size is two. Your mother is responsible for applying for insurance for the two of you, although she may not need insurance if she has coverage through other sources, such as employer, retirement or medicare. Mary Ellen Reply
Is household income how you will file or who you can claim regardless if you claim them for 2013 or not? I want to opt-out and pay the penalty but want my wife covered by the exchange, both of us work and her job does not offer health coverage, Can and should we file separately to use her income alone for her coverage alone to maximize the tax credit for her coverage? Thanks in advance! Reply
William, Your filing status does not impact household income. You must combine your income for determining the possible credits even if you file separate tax returns. You will also be responsible for insurance for any dependents on your tax return. Mary Ellen Reply
If an employer offers coverage to employee and dependent children, but not the spouse, will the spouse qualify for a tax credit when buying through the exchange? Reply
Kathy, Household income and family size will determine the size of any tax credits you may qualify for. Mary Ellen Reply
I expect to be laid off early next year — January/February and plan to purchase Insurance. I have no idea what my income for next year will be in 2014. If I don’t have a ‘subsidy’ applied to my premiums on a monthly basis; CAN I collect them via my 2014 tax return? If they base the subsidy on 2013 or 2012 income, I wouldn’t be eligible, but I don’t expect my income to be anywhere near that high on 2014. I’d prefer to pay the premium, not owe anyone any money and get any credit due at the end. IS THAT possible or doesn’t anyone know? I’m sure I won’t be the only one that goes from high earner to low or zero as a result of layoff. Reply
Karen- I had the same question and yahoo finance’s section directed me to healthcare.gov where deep in they explained essentially yes to your question. When one files their 2014 tax return you will be reconciling any advance credits you may have taken throughout the year (taking zero as you go is an option) against what your actual 2014 magi when filing dictates you qualifiy for. When signing up for a plan we’ll be estimating our upcoming 2014 magi to get estimated potential credit. The site says we will be able to choose to receive the estimated monthly credit in full each month or a portion of it in case we’re not confident of our estimated 2014 magi and do not want to “owe back” any money when reconcile at tax filing time. Hope that helps, I had same unease at projecting modified adjusted gross income for the coming year. Disclaimer: I’m not a tax professional but this is what I found on the website in deep. Unfortunately, I’m traveling and not good at pasting in links etc. on tiny screen so use my words at own discretion. Reply
Thank you! After further consideration I more or less realized they are actually giving us an ADVANCE on anything we might be getting back as a result of having to pay better than 10% of our income toward medical. Think I’ll wait and get the refund…
My husband is self-employed and I won’t have a job until August 2014. We won’t have insurance until then too. If we chose to not have insurance until Aug 2014, will we still be penalized? Reply
Tiffany, You can be penalized for the months of April, May, June and July. You are not required to have insurance until April 1. Mary Ellen Reply
As for the penalty, ignoring for the moment the implications of the court challenges to the administrative interpretation by the DHS/IRS, avoiding it will also mean managing ones withheld or estimated taxes more carefully so that one is not left with a refund position at year’s end. Only then can the IRS pick your pocket via this penalty. Otherwise, they have under the law no recourse against you. Reply
If I have itemized on my tax return in the past and have claimed medical premiums with a private insurance company, will that remain the same for deduction on my taxes? Reply
Linda, Medical insurance premiums you pay will continue to be deductible. If you purchase insurance through the exchange and receive a subsidy, you will need to reduce your deduction by the amount of the subsidy. Mary Ellen Reply
I am retired and am on social security and medicare. My wife, who is retired but not yet eligible for medicare, had her own health insurance with anthem blue cross but her policy is no longer available because of Obamacare. She qualifies for a tax credit subsidy but we have a very low tax burden. How can we take advantage of the tax credit if we pay little or no tax? Reply
Hi, You can take the tax credit to help you pay for your insurance in 2014, before you file your 2014 taxes in 2015. The tax credit can be applied to your monthly premiums. Thank you, Lisa Greene-Lewis Reply
Yes but, CAN you take the tax credit ON the 2014 tax return rather than take it as a subsidy? If you do not apply a subsidy that you may be entitled to during the plan year CAN you get it via your tax refund at the end of the year? Again, if you don’t know what your annual income will be…and I know mine will be different in 2014 than it was in 2012 and 2013 — I assume far less. OR don’t you know?
Hi, Yes, you can opt not to apply any subsidy and get it as a credit on your 2014 tax return. It will be a refundable credit, like a tax payment, even if you do not have a tax liability. Mary Ellen
Daddyomommyo: I have the same question as you, How can we take advantage of the tax credit if we pay no taxes when we file? Or more specifically, do we have to pay back the credit if we used it to decrease our monthly insurance premiums, because there are no taxes owed to subtract it from on our tax return??? And I don’t see any other letter answering our question. Please can TurboTaxLisa or some other knowledgable person speak to this?? Reply
If you have health insurance you are all set. You don’t have to do anything. I just got notice my policy is being cancelled and I found out over 4 million others are getting the same notice. Thanks for the accurate info Lisa. Reply
Hi Bernard, I’m sorry about your insurance. Unfortunately under the Affordable Care Act, insurance policies that did not meet the “minimum essential requirements” required by the law are being canceled. Read more information about what is meant by minimum essential coverage here https://www.healthcare.gov/what-if-someone-doesnt-have-health-coverage-in-2014/ Thank you, Lisa Greene-Lewis Reply
Would it be operationally accurate to say some people’s income taxes can go up 100% as a result of the ACA? For purposes of my question, income tax is defined as the amount the ACA could cost someone out of their income. Thanks! Reply
The penalty is $95 OR 1% of your income above the minimum tax threshold, whichever is higher. The penalty could be many hundreds of dollars (even thousands, if you’re a highly compensated individual).
Defined in this way, sure. Premiums with higher deductibles for many people are double to triple what they were paying. As for the penalty, ignoring for the moment the implications of the court challenges to the administrative interpretation by the DHS/IRS, avoiding it will also mean managing ones withheld or estimated taxes more carefully so that one is not left with a refund position at year’s end. Only then can the IRS pick your pocket via this penalty. Otherwise, they have under the law no recourse against you. Reply
“If you like your current plan…………………..” UPDATE your information, or you’ll be accused of working for the Chief Executive’s propaganda branch. Reply
Veterans already signed up for VA Healthcare do not have to sign up for Obama Care….VA meets the minimum requirements. Reply
Ha Ha, Veteran, got letter from VA…I don’t have to sign up for the crappy Obamacare…I already have crappy Government medical coverage. Reply
I’m glad there;s some intelligence in this debate, unfortunately its not in this article. You will be taxed on your health coverage, just not yet. So saying you won’t be taxed is a lie by omission. Reply
Hello, Nice blog. Your article gives such an useful information about health insurance.Thanks for sharing. Reply
Ok so after determining that my employer’s coverage isn’t “affordable” I can now purchase from the marketplace or thru an insurance co., I already know I don’t qualify for assistance for that so my question is, if I don’t itemize will there be something to fill out for the premiums I directly because right now premiums come out of my paycheck and are pretaxed lowering my taxable income. Please advise. Reply
Hi Sonia, Yes, if you itemize your tax deductions, you can deduct medical expenses including premiums paid over 10% of your AGI (7.5% if over 65). So for example, if you made $50,000, you can deduct your medical expenses over $5,000 ($50,000 x 10%). Thank you, Lisa Greene-Lewis Reply
1099 misc form is filled by the company to show the miscellaneous incomes like renting, compensation, awards, royalties and many others of the companies. Reply
About all this helpful turbotax blog has done for me, is convince me that I probably ought to fine another way to do my taxes. Reply
Maybe some of you will start seeing the light. OBAMA LIED TO US!!! You will not be able to keep your current insurance because THE EGOMANIC HAS DECIDED HE KNOWS WHAT IS BEST FOR YOU!! Your rates are going up as well as your deductables. The only ones making out on this program are all the freeloaders out there. Reply
It’s not the president’s fault that doctors and insurance companies are idiots. All those people care about is filling their pockets, so of course they want to screw people over out of greed. Reply
I kept my insurance, Blue cross anthem! My rates went down as did my dedutibles. So I guess you are wrong, again!
It’s like car insurance. People have been expected to buy it for decades. It has a purpose, to save you a lot of money in Dr. bills and etc.. I really don’t understand what’s so hard to comprehend. I guess you people who are against having health insurance must love being in debt.
WOW. thanks for helping understand this issue. i was thinking it would effect my 2013 taxes!!!! Reply
You can go to healthcare.gov an dget information on plans, etc. You just can’t enroll because the website is still jacked up but it does have information available. Reply
I find this blog very helpful, but I do wish the admin would filter out all the political posturing. This is not the place for that. Go rant elsewhere, leave this blog for those seeking information about the current tax laws, rather than those who want to continue debating their validity. Reply
My husband and I are both self employed with highly variable income and 3 kids. sometimes we may qualify for subsidies, while other times we may not. If we do not ask for a subsidy to purchase the insurance, and earnings end up falling below the threshold, can we take a credit for that difference when filing our tax returns? Reply
Tamar, When you purchase insurance from the exchange, you will be given the option on how much of the subsidy to apply. If you don’t apply any of the subsidy, it will become a refundable credit on your 2014 tax return. Mary Ellen Reply
If i deny insurance from my work, will I still be penalized, or taxed at the end of the year? I will be getting insurance else where. Reply
My oldest son needs insurance. He can’t even get on the website. It keeps crashing. So he will be penalized ? Even though its not his fault? And he can’t even afford groceries. How us he suppose to pay for insurance? Reply
Kim, Insurance is not required until April 1. If his income is low, he will qualify for subsidies to pay for his insurance, and possibly his medical expenses. Mary Ellen Reply
We buy our insurance through my wife’s employer because it is cheaper than my employers insurance. My boss has to pay $800 a year per person fine for every employee that does not buy his insurance. He is going to take that out of my check. And it goes to $1600 per year in 2015, and higher every year. Can I deduct this from my taxes or am I just screwed by Obamacare? Reply
How much are you saving each year by being under your wife’s employer’s insurance? Is the savings more than what your boss will charge you? If not, then might be a good idea to stay on your employer’s insurance… Reply
Is that LEGAL? I don’t think so but nothing would surprise me these days. However, I can’t believe there is a deduction on your paycheck for employer tax penalty… I thought the idea behind having an EMPLOYER pay the penalty was to convince him to provide insurance. Many employers are opting to pay the penalty because it is cheaper for THEM than it would be to provide insurance. I can’t believe they can legally force you to pay THEIR penalty via your wages. Both of you will still be responsible for SS and medicare taxes on that $800 and you will still be paying both state and federal income tax on that money as well. On the other hand I do think they could DECREASE your salary by $800 per year to offset his cost. This would make more sense for BOTH employer and employee. In that case, you would both be saving on SS and medicare taxes and you wouldn’t be paying the federal and state taxes either. Reply
Companies and businesses do not care who they screw over. All they care about is their bankroll while all of us hard working citizens struggle to succeed in this chaotic world.
I hear you on that one but..after further thought, I don’t understand why this guy would be penalized anyway…he’s opting out HAS INSURANCE. Why would there be a penalty? If someone has insurance elsewhere why would an employer be penalized? I’m not going to worry about this stuff — just going to get my insurance without a subsidy, hope to write it off on my taxes and PRAY, PRAY, PRAY for Divine intervention! I’ve given up on Congressional intervention!
The employer will not be fined if the employee “opts out” of his insurance plan. The only way the employer gets “fined” is if the employee files for the subsidy which is not the case here (the wife’s insurance is less expensive, but not is not through an exchange, and is not eligible for the subsidy. This gentleman needs to contact his State Insurance commissioner, the State Wage and Hour Board and a good attorney!
I make about $50,000 a year for a family of 5. I have insurance through my work for myself currently, however to get if for my family (even the cheapest plan) is about $1,000 a month, or $12,000 a year. That’s 24% of my income. Can I still apply for “Obamacare” even though I’m currently on my school’s insurance since I’m above the 9.5% rule? If so that means I’ve got 2 insurances at the same time. Is that a problem? Is there any way to cancel my insurance with the school I work at. The insurance policies are for 1 year but I don’t know with the new tax reform if that allows you to cancel with your current employer. Thanks. Reply
Me and my husband can’t afford the insurance he gets through work. If he drops the insurance(which he is able in december)can we look into the health insurance marketplace and still get the subsidy or i have to absolutely go with my husband’s one. If we don’t have any insurance how much our penalty will be if our income is 37,000 a year? Reply
All of you people complaining need to actually read how this is going to help people. Why was it ok when bush wanted to do the same thing and the dems voted it down. Do some research before you go bitching. and some of you need to learn to spell Reply
What does it take to qualify for the tax credit? I am a 1099 employee and have to purchase my own insurance. Reply
Lisa not as long as we have Perry in office or any Rep or Tea Party for that matter..Most of us are screwed.. Reply
I didn’t understand the tax credit my yearly income says I can put $248 monthly tax credit toward my health insurance to lower my monthly payment for insurance ..but I have never got that much back on fed tax refund. That’s about $3000.00. Does that mean we will get a larger tax return to help pay for health insurance?? Reply
The way I understand it that will be applied to your ins monthly and you will only be out the difference every month Reply
Hey Turbo Tax, how much did Obama pay you to make this awfully misleading video? Misleading in the sense that it puts a positive spin on obamacare. Reply
Thanks Mike for calling out for responsibility and integrity…woefully lacking to all of America’s peril and demise…The media and all Obama’s “pups” have cost us our very freedom and yet they continue right on worshipping at his pagan altar. NO TurboTaxLisa NobamaDon’tCare. We pay more and get less and you go right on marching in lockstep with the socialit deceiver-in-chief. Reply
Oh my gods! People, our freedoms were at risk for decades. Stop putting the blame on the current president. We’d still be in a spiraling mess even if Romney was in charge.
Sheep, are you suggesting that we were right to be upset and dissatisfied with previous people messing us over but we should not be complaining when this Obama idiot piles on and starts shoving garbage down our throat too? Garbage is garbage, no matter who the originator.
Thank you Turbo Tax for putting out straight talk on the Health Care law. The people complaining are the ones the rest of us are paying for now since they do not have health insurance and then they go to the Emergency Room and don’t pay. We / I end up paying for them. They want something for nothing. The whole concept of auto or health insurance is that everyone puts in their share and most of the time they don’t need it but ….. when we do, the whole group helps pay. Grow up and pay your way. Reply
Who r u kidding? Have u looked at the exemption qualifications? Those people still won’t end up having to pay! One of the exemptions even says you may be exempt if you have a disconnect notice lol Reply
TurboTaxShanneModerator 3 days ago I have also found some information for you about “exemption from the fee”. You can click on the following link and read all of the rules for exemptions. https://www.healthcare.gov/exemptions/ Reply
I’ll have to say I tend to agree with you. My 24 yr old daughter and her husband do have coverage through his work. It’s very expensive and they are young and just starting out, but they have a baby and NEED insurance so they are being responsible and he looked until he found a job that offered insurance. It is a huge chunk out of his paycheck. They don’t get to go out to eat much, or buy clothes or nice vehicles or drink beer or have nice cell phones. They, instead, have insurance. That is what responsible grownups do. He chose the job that offered it. Because they have insurance, they are gonna be broke for a while. But they are not asking anyone else to pay their way!!! That’s the way they were raised!!
some of us don’t make enough ,when I could afford coverage I was happy to get it.now I am not able to pay for it now,it will pull from food or rent,or gas.so which would you tell me to go with out.i have looked at my options with the new health care,there are none I can afford. Reply
Geez, I don’t see how people can’t grasp the concept that having insurance is A LOT CHEAPER than paying a fat Dr. and/or E.R. bill.
Not really. Actually the real truth of you deadbeats. Probably slacked through school too. Now time to pay the piper!
Ignorant? It’s the freaking truth. What’s ignorant is people enjoying their free ride while the rest of us have to cover your rear ends as we try to cover our own.
Jim, your comment is really uncalled for and untruthful to a lot! I work very hard for what little I have and have no insurance offered at where I work! I have never been to an emergency room for care in my life! I do not, like a lot of others have health insurance because it takes everything I make to pay bills and cannot afford it! How nice for you that you can afford insurance! You need to know what you are talking about before you condemn other hard working people! If you think this health care law is for the best for everyone, you need to check your facts! Reply
Sounds like you better pull a 2nd job or find another job that is better and offers good benefits. It’s not that damn hard. As for not going to the ER, there’s always a first time for everything and when you get that huge ass bill, you’ll be wishing you had insurance.
Allergic to sleep: there are many parts to the equation for people – work-family balance is one that is very important to many people. Paying the necessary bills for existance comes first, however, if the parent is not home because of always working, who then raises the children with ethics, personal integrity, & how to be a generally decent person? HMMM? I suppose your children are modelf of society?
Yeah, I pay my bills for existence first and so forth. Life might be tough, but it isn’t that complicated. People need to stop making excuses and get their life straightened out. As for my children, I’m raising them to not be like their mother (whom is living off the government, otherwise known as the hard working tax payers money) and people like you whiners whom can’t seem to grasp logic, common sense, and intelligence.
Allergic to Sheep, you are a self righteous troll! You have done nothing but judge everyone down the line here. You need to get another job ( been there, done that too long!) maybe you wouldn’t have so much time judging other people! You have to have intelligence to give it! Try getting some first!
Your definition of a “judgemental troll” appears to be way off. Don’t get all butt-hurt over the things you can’t comprehend. Your comment appears to be more out of judgment and trolling than mine. I was basically having a conversation over what is sadly the truth and you go all “boo hoo hoo.” It is true that some of my comments were in response to the comments by trolling sheep who don’t really have anything worth saying. They just post their badmouthing on things they have no intelligence or comprehension on.
if you ever get laid off or lose your job lets see how you think then jim.becouse I felt the same way you do until it happened to me.so hope you never lose your job jim Reply
I work and make about 30,000 a year, my husband is to sick to work anymore but has been denied SS or SSI I am insured at work but he has no income and I can not afford to cover him. He has 3 terminal illness. am I going to be penalized for his not having insurance even though he has no income? he smokes so his coverage will be through the roof. Reply
Exactly. The person smoking the cigs has obviously signed his death warrant by wanting to continue smoking and sadly she is allowing it. It’s kinda like slow suicide. But stop the cigs and she might be able to afford insurance.
I have a full time job with benefits. A little over $30k/yr and no debt besides the usual bills. I am thankful for my Pension, 401K, Health Insurance, Vision, Dental, and a wife whom actually works (minimum wage) and helps keep our income straight. I have 2 daughters and 2 cars (which was a $9k loan and was paid off in 9 months). I have $425 rent that includes electric, water, trash, and gas. After paying all my bills (including credit card, car maintenance/insurance, and buying groceries) I still have over $600 in the bank. As for “trolling?” Nah, try instead, “..providing logic, common sense, truth, and intelligence…” Get some!
I too say, stop the cigs and use that money to pay for insurance. You are correct, I am not a smoker, but I lost relatives because of cancer to the lungs, including my Mom! I too pay my way and am tired of the high cost of medical and auto insurance to make up for those who do not have it. Reply
All complaining is going to get any of you is a promotion. I don’t fully understand most anything that goes on when it comes to healthcare furthermore I don’t think that our law makers and insurance companies know either. I don’t know why I started reading all these comments but it helps me come to the realization that everyone is complaining of first world problems. Sorry that you can vent your frustrations through a smart phone or computer. Live your life pay your taxes and shut up about it. I just realized I am a hypocrite and am venting my frustrations through a smart phone. Just know that most Americans are suffering just like me with quadruple the debt of the amount that I have in my checking account premium cable, air conditioning and a running vehicle. Oh how I suffer. Reply