Treasury and IRS Confirm No Penalties For Wrong 1095-A
The Treasury department and IRS confirmed those who filed using an incorrect 1095-A will not be charged additional taxes based on the corrected forms. This applies to both the federal exchange HealthCare.Gov and the state exchanges.
UPDATE: 2019: While this page was written in 2015 and applies first and foremost to the 2014 plan year, the information should still be helpful moving forward for reference. Thus we will leave the page here and unchanged.
820,000 forms went out to people who got tax credits on HealthCare.Gov or the state exchanges with an incorrect piece of data: “the cost of the second lowest cost silver plan in a person’s state”.
That 1095-A form was used to fill out the form for adjusting or claiming tax credits: 8962 – Premium Tax Credit Form.
People who filed an 8962 – Premium Tax Credit Form with the incorrect amount will most likely get back a slight amount more then they were owed. However, those at certain income levels could end up owing more. If they do, the IRS won’t pursue it, if they got more back then they were supposed the IRS said they can keep it.
Below is a chart of tax credit repayment levels. The closer you are to a threshold below, the more impactful filing with an incorrect 1095-A can be. Here is what the Treasury department suggests.
A tax filer is likely to benefit from amending if the 2015 monthly premium for his or her second lowest cost Silver plan (or “benchmark” plan) is less than the 2014 premium. For example, if a filer’s original form lists a benchmark premium of $100 and her updated form lists a premium of $200, it may be in her interest to refile. Individuals may want to consult with their tax preparers to determine if they would benefit from filing amended returns.
Nothing about this announcement stops someone from filing an amended tax return or filing for an extension on their taxes.
People should still wait for the correct 1095-A if they haven’t filed yet. You can also see our guide to figuring out the information on a 1095-A yourself in the meantime.
Tax Credit Repayment Levels
| Income % of FPL | Filing Status: Single |
Filing Status: All Other |
|---|---|---|
| Less than 200% FPL | $300 | $600 |
| At least 200% FPL but less than 300% |
$750 | $1,500 |
| At least 300% FPL but less than 400% |
$1,250 | $2,500 |
| If your year end income exceeds 400% FPL, you will have to return the total amount of Advanced Premium Tax Credits you received.If you make too little to qualify for subsidies (less 100% FPL), then you owe NOTHING.That being said, if you know you are going to price out of cost assistance, make sure to update your Marketplace account. You may become eligible for a free or low-cost Medicaid plan if your state expanded Medicaid. | ||
The Treasury department said it intends to provide additional information to help tax filers determine whether they would benefit from filing amended returns. You can find a lot of what we assume they will tell you here, however we will make sure to post the information when it comes along.
And the IRS “will not pursue the collection of any additional taxes from these individuals based on updated information in the corrected forms,” according to a statement issued by the Treasury Department.
Official Statement from treasury.gov
Statement from a Treasury Spokesperson on Forms 1095-A
3/20/2015
WASHINGTON – In light of today’s announcement—regarding additional incorrect information on certain Marketplace tax statements (Forms 1095-A)—the Department of the Treasury is expanding the relief it announced previously on February 24, which will mitigate any harm to tax filers. Any individual who enrolled in qualifying Marketplace coverage, received an incorrect Form 1095-A, and filed his or her tax return based on that form does not need to file an amended tax return. The IRS will not pursue the collection of any additional taxes from these individuals based on updated information in the corrected forms. This relief applies to tax filers who enrolled through the federally facilitated marketplace or a state-based marketplace.
As before, some individuals may choose to file amended returns. Treasury intends to provide additional information to help tax filers determine whether they would benefit from filing amended returns. Individuals also may want to consult with their tax preparers to determine if they would benefit from amending.
Only a small fraction of tax filers received incorrect Forms 1095-A. Treasury estimates that in the vast majority of these cases, the impact on an individual’s tax liability will be very small.
We continue to urge individuals who have been notified of errors on their Forms 1095-A and have not yet filed their tax returns to wait to file until they receive corrected forms.
Read CMS’s blog here.
For additional information, read Treasury’s FAQs here.
Author: Thomas DeMichele
Thomas DeMichele is the head writer and founder of ObamaCareFacts.com, FactsOnMedicare.com, and other websites. He has been in the health insurance and healthcare information field since 2012. ObamaCareFacts.com is a...
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Alison J. Rosales
We have been trying to GET a corrected 2014 1095-A from CoveredCA/Kaiser to amend our 2014 income tax. We still do not have a corrected one. The IRS is waiting…..
We were waiting for the 4th corrected 1095-A for 2015 to file our taxes. We had to file an extension because we did not get it.
We have the correct 2015, 1095-A now, but we’re waiting for our son’s 2015 taxes to be processed by the IRS before we amend his return (first year of non-dependent) for the corrected 1095-A and wrong home address (my mistake).
We may need to do a change notice with CoveredCA for 2016, but not until 2014 and 2015’s 1095-A/income taxes are corrected.
One last comment. Kaiser charged the Gov/me/CoveredCA $4550.00 in premium assistance for 7 months. Kaiser claims they did not receive a change notice from CoveredCA to remove me back on 3/21/14. No one has mentioned this money on either side.
A mess? I would say “YES!”
Earl
I just got a letter from the IRS saying my 1095a form dosn’t match the healthcare.gov on file the letter from Austin TX says they can reduce my refund because of the incorrect information. I was eligible for a tax credit but the 1095a form from healthcare.gov left column b and c were left with 0.00. I was going to take the credits at the end of the year. Now I got to wait another 6 to 8 weeks for my refund. I tell you what I will never vote democrate again. This Obamacare is some straight up bullshit. I don’t make a lot of money and I needed my refund to pay bills. Now I got to struggle to make ends met for a while.