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I get a lot of tax questions every year but this
year, the Affordable Care Act, commonly known
as Obamacare, is topping the list of questions.
In Part 1 ofmy series, I share themost frequently
asked question.
Can you believe that it was six years ago that
President Obama signed the Patient Protection
and Affordable Care Act into law? Time flies and
every year that goes by seems to create more
and more confusion for American taxpayers.
That’s because the implementation of the
Affordable Care Act is rolling out slowly over
the course of many years instead of all at once
so, every year it seems we have new mandates.
As of January 1, 2014, individuals were required
to purchase health insurance for themselves
and their dependents and, if they didn’t have
proper health insurance for one or more
months during the year, they were made to pay
an additional tax called the individual shared
responsibility payment. This payment is a tax,
let’s call it what it is. It’s a good ‘ol slap on the
hand by Uncle Sam for not playing by the rules
and that slap is stinging more every year.
And by the way, the confusion isn’t just on
the individual side of this healthcare reform;
there are plenty of additional complexities for
employers too, both large and small.
The #1 question I hear the most is “
How much
is the penalty if I didn’t have health insurance
last year
?” The short answer is $325 per adult
+ $162.50 per child up to $975 or 2% of your
income, whichever is greater.
In 2016, these amounts jump to $695 per adult
+ $347.50 per child up to $2085 in penalties or
part 1
Affordable Care Act
Frequently Asked Questions
By Tina Moe, CPA
SOAR TO SUCCESS
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A
pril
2016
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Core Business Strategy