It’s always a good idea to get health insurance coverage for you and your family. Not only will it provide a safety net for injuries, disease, and other unpredictable factors, but it provides incredible peace of mind. Simply knowing it’s there can make a person feel at ease, but since 2014, healthcare insurance has been a requirement for the first time. Under the Affordable Care Act, many uninsured tax payers may have to part with hundreds of hard-earned dollars, but there are ways to avoid these fees that many are unaware of.
Millions of American taxpayers are exempt from the new Obamacare taxes, and in 2015, you’ll be required to report your healthcare status to the IRA for the first time. Intuit, the company behind popular tax preparation software TurboTax, estimates that roughly half of the 40 million people that didn’t have insurance in 2014 will be exempt from the Obamacare tax in 2015, but simply failing to have health insurance isn’t enough. You have to know the exemptions, and asking a tax preparation consultant about which exemptions you may qualify for may save you hundreds of dollars in 2015.
Possible exemptions include (but are not limited to)…
– Bankruptcy
– Homelessness
– Financial hardship
– Victim of domestic violence
– Back bills, including medical bills
– Being a member of a Native American tribe
It’s also important to know that absolutely any form of health insurance exempts you from the fee for not having health insurance. Insurance from employers, individual health plans, Medicare, Medicaid, and even free government health insurance through Obamacare all qualify, so if you’re covered, you should be exempt already. Read on to arm yourself with the information you need to help others!
The Obamacare tax is increasing annually, and it’s increasing more quickly than you might think…
– In 2014, the Obamacare tax was $95 per adult and $47.50 per child or 1% of taxable income, whichever is higher.
– 2015’s penalty will skyrocket to $325 per adult, $162.50 per child, or 2% of taxable income.
– 2016’s projected penalty will be $695 per adult, $347.50 per child, or 2.5% of taxable income.
Now is the time to do something to same yourself from paying the penalty. Health insurance might just save your life someday, so if you don’t have health insurance, you can go to HealthCare.gov and apply for free government health insurance. Open enrollment will continue until February 15th, so if you don’t have health insurance, the time to act is now. If you miss that window or absolutely can’t get health insurance for one reason or another, you can visit TurboTax’s Exemption Check and find out if you’re exempt in a matter of minutes. According to TurboTax, over half of the people that use Exemption Check have qualified for an exemption, so don’t delay.
A big issue with the Obamacare tax is the rampant lack of awareness in American taxpayers. There are tools available to those who need them, and with roughly 30 exemptions for people across America, it’s entirely possible that you won’t have to pay if you simply check for exemptions. Share this article with your friends and you may just save them thousands of dollars over the course of the next few years.
How do you feel about Obamacare as a whole? Do you predict that it will benefit Americans in the long run? Share your thoughts with us in the comments section below!
