It’s a great and important question that we get asked a lot — and the short answer is…no. Before 2019, you in fact did need health insurance (or a qualifying exemption) or you were subject to a penalty payable with your income tax return. If you remember it, it was called the “individual responsibility payment”. This used to be a central requirement of the Affordable Care Act. We will now dig a bit deeper on taxes and health insurance and what you need to know.
The Tax Cut and Jobs Act (TCJA) repealed the penalty, starting with the tax year 2019, but many still ask if they need health insurance to file taxes after the ACA penalty was repealed.
Again, the answer is no. You no longer will be penalized for not having insurance. However, we want to make sure you are covered, so if you don’t have any health insurance and missed the open enrollment period to enroll, that’s okay! We can help! We can see if you qualify for a special enrollment, can help to see if you are eligible for any subsidies, and get you on your way to making sure you and your family are covered.
How do subsides or APTC work?
When one is applying for coverage on the Marketplace(Healthcare.Gov) one of the primary questions they ask is your projected income for the current year. This piece of information should be as reliable as possible. If you project your income too low you will get it with a big tax bill at the end of the year. On the other hand if your project too much and you were entitled to a large subsidy you may be entitled to a tax rebate. The best advice we can give you is to speak with a tax professional who can advise you of what the proper amount should be to put down.
Still have questions about taxes and health insurance? Give us a call today! Our agents are ready and waiting to help!
