ACA
Urgent – Covered California Reissuing 1095-A Corrected Forms to over 100K
Some Covered California members received a version of IRS Form 1095-A that contained inaccuracies. In order to communicate this, Covered California will be mailing out a postcard to those consumers informing them of the inconsistencies and making them aware that a corrected version of IRS Form 1095-A will be issued to them for tax filing purposes.
In order to meet the Federal deadline of the 1095 Form being post marked no later than 2/2, approximately 100k 1095s had to be sent with defects before they could be fixed.
As a result, a post card is being sent to the 100k consumers with the following language: “You recently received an IRS Form 1095-A from Covered California. We are writing to tell you that we discovered a problem with the information on your original form. Covered California is in the process of updating the information and will send you a corrected IRS Form 1095-A within the next couple of weeks.
Please use the corrected IRS Form 1095-A information when filing your federal income tax or amending your federal income tax if you have already filed your tax return. The corrected IRS Form 1095-A will have a checkbox marked as corrected at the top of the form.
You can also log into your CoveredCA.com account and go to your secured mailbox to download a copy of your corrected Form 1095-A once it becomes available.
If you have questions or have not received your corrected IRS Form 1095-A by midFebruary, please call the Covered California Consumer Service Center at 1-800-300- 1506 Monday through Friday, 8:00 AM – 8:00 PM; Saturday and Sunday, 8:00 AM – 6:00 PM.”
Speaking to City of San Bernardino About Tax Implications of Affortable Care Act/Covered CAlifornia
Yesterday, I attended an event by Covered California where some top officials flew in from Sacramento to have a discussion about Covered Califo
rnia and current updates, concerns, tips for the last month of open enrollment.
It really bothered me when they mention there was over 700 registered agents in the area that was notified about this event, and only about 50 actually showed up. How are you supposed to give your clients the best possible help if you do not really understand what is happening.
I learned so much in this 3 hour session it should have been mandatory for all agents, there was a lot of valuable insights, tips, and recommendation we learned.
I spent quite a bit of time speaking with the Director of Sales for Covered California, Kirk Whelan.
The highlight, was when I was honored to be asked to give my insights on the tax implications this year with IRS and Affordable Care Act.
I have a unique insight being a licensed tax preparer and Certified Covered California Insurance Agent.
After the event, I was invited by the City of San Bernardino Employment & Training Agency, to speak and educate up to 30 of their field staff and Certified Enrollment Counselors for Covered California, to discuss what to they can expect this tax season, to discuss the 1095 forms that consumer will start getting any day, and to discuss more about tax implications, tax penalties, and subsidies.
Looking forward to speaking at this event. If you have any questions about how ACA could affect your taxes gives us a call 909-570-1103
Understanding How The Affordable Care Act Will Affect Your 2014 Tax Return
It’s hard to believe that the tax return filing season is just a couple of weeks away. While some of our clients are unable to complete their return until later in the year, others are ready to “get it done” as soon as possible. Regardless of which group you find yourself in, it’s very important to understand the implications of the Affordable Care Act on your tax filing process.
2014 is the first year in which the ACA truly affects the average American’s tax return. That’s because of the necessity of proving compliance with the Individual Mandate, and because of the requirement of reconciling the Premium Tax Credit (for those with who are receiving the benefits of this program).
As one of our clients we obviously don’t expect you to understand everything about the Affordable Care Act. That’s our job! But we do want to get you ready for the new landscape of healthcare and taxes. It’s important to have a general understanding of the requirements in order to be ready to have your return completed by us. In the sections below we review areas related to the ACA that you need to be aware of before having us assist you.
Information Reporting
The Affordable Care Act introduces three new forms that many of you received in 2014, and all of you will receive in 2015. The “1095” is distributed by the Marketplace (Exchanges), health insurance companies, and large employers. These documents are required for the first group in 2014, and optional for the other two. The form will look similar to this:
The 1095 is used to provide health insurance reporting to the federal government. It lists each person who has received coverage. It details the months health insurance was in force, and the financial benefit of the policy (or credit). You should expect to receive 1095s from the Marketplace in late January, and from other entities later in the tax season. Unfortunately we expect there will be a lot of variance on when these forms arrive.
It’s very important to understand that you and your family members could receive multiple different forms. Please keep all of these documents and bring them to our office when you meet with your tax advisor. Call us today to answer any questions, Call 909-570-1103
Covered California Deadline has been extended…
California’s health insurance exchange extended its deadline for consumers who want Obamacare coverage in effect beginning Jan. 1.
Peter Lee, executive director of Covered California, said people who start the application process or made some “good faith effort” by Monday will have until Dec. 21 to finish signing up. Monday at midnight was the original deadline.
“We are providing this window to get people across the finish line,” Lee said at an exchange board meeting Monday. “We know many of the people applying have never had insurance before, and these are individuals who need to sit down and talk with someone.”
Lee said many insurance agents and enrollment counselors were fully booked with applicants Monday. He said the deadline extension will enable consumers to get help or make an appointment through Dec. 21.
Give me a call today 909-570-1103 or email me at Carlos @HealthCareTaxAdvisor.com