Dive Brief:
- The Internal Revenue Service says taxpayers who received incorrect information from the federal health insurance marketplace, and already used it to file their taxes, will not be required to file an amended return or be subject to additional taxes.
- It was announced last week that about 800,000 people who are insured through Healthcare.gov and qualified for premium tax credits were mailed incorrect information on their Form 1095-A, "Health Insurance Marketplace Statement." The announcement asked these recipients to wait for a new, corrected form in March before filing their taxes.
- The IRS estimates that approximately 50,000 people (less than 0.05% of all tax filers) have already filed using incorrect forms. "We have concluded that these individuals do not need to file amended returns," the statement reads. "The IRS will not pursue the collection of any additional taxes from these individuals based on updated information in the corrected forms."
Dive Insight:
This strategy provides some relief to those inconvenienced by the mistake, but it doesn't help the ACA's reputation for difficulty with logistics.
Those who are affected but have yet to file their taxes are still being asked to wait for their corrected forms.
As for those who did already file, as AccountingToday notes, some may want to amend their tax returns anyway. The Treasury statement explains, “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."