The Internal Revenue Service is offering educational Health Care Tax Tips to help individuals understand how the Affordable Care Act may affect their taxes.

The IRS has designed the Health Care Tax Tips to help people understand what they need to know for the federal individual income tax returns they are filing this year, as well as for future tax returns. This includes information on the Premium Tax Credit and making health care coverage choices.

Although many of the tax provisions included in the law went into effect on Jan. 1, 2014, most do not affect the 2013 tax returns.

The Health Care Tax Tips, which are now available at IRS.gov/aca, include:

• • IRS Reminds Individuals of Health Care Choices for 2014 — Find out what you need to know about how health care choices you make for 2014 may affect your taxes.
  • The Health Insurance Marketplace – Learn about Your Health Insurance Coverage Options — Find out about getting health care coverage through the Health Insurance Marketplace.
  • The Premium Tax Credit — Learn the basics of the Premium Tax Credit, including who might be eligible and how to get the credit.
  • The Individual Shared Responsibility Payment – An Overview — Provides information about types of qualifying coverage, exemptions from having coverage, and making a payment if you do not have qualifying coverage or an exemption.
  • Three Timely Tips about Taxes and the Health Care Law —  Provides tips that help with filing the 2013 tax return, including information about employment status, tax favored health plans and itemized deductions.
  • Four Tax Facts about the Health Care Law for Individuals — Offers basic tips to help people determine if the Affordable Care Act affects them and their families, and where to find more information.
  • Changes in Circumstances can Affect your Premium Tax Credit — Learn the importance of reporting any changes in circumstances that involve family size or income when advance payments of the Premium Tax Credit are involved.

In addition to Health Care Tax Tips, the IRS.gov/aca website offers informative flyers and brochures, Frequently Asked Questions and in-depth legal guidance regarding the tax provisions of the Affordable Care Act.

Beginning in 2014, the individual shared responsibility provision of the Affordable Care Act requires each individual to:

• Maintain a minimum level of health care coverage – known as minimum essential coverage, or
• Qualify for an exemption, or
• Make an individual shared responsibility payment when filing their federal income tax returns.

Minimum essential coverage generally includes government-sponsored programs, employer-provided health coverage, and coverage purchased in the individual market, including the Health Insurance Marketplace.  Most people already have health insurance coverage that qualifies as minimum essential coverage, and therefore will not need to make a payment if they maintain their qualified coverage. However, for each month that you or a member of your family is without minimum essential coverage and does not qualify for an exemption, you will need to make an individual shared responsibility payment.

If you and your dependents had minimum essential coverage for each month of 2014, you will check a box indicating that when you file your 2014 federal income tax return.  If you qualify for an exemption, you will attach a form to your tax return to claim that exemption.  If you are required to make the individual shared responsibility payment, you will calculate your payment and make the payment with your return.

If you choose to make an individual shared responsibility payment instead of maintaining minimum essential coverage, this means you will not have health insurance coverage to help pay for medical expenses.

In general, the individual shared responsibility payment for 2014 is the greater of:

• One percent of your household income above the income filing threshold for your tax filing status, or
• A flat dollar amount of $95 per adult and $47.50 per child (under age 18) in your family, but no more than $285 per family.

The individual shared responsibility payment is also capped at the cost of the national average premium for bronze level health plans available through the Marketplace that would cover everyone in your family who does not have minimum essential coverage and does not qualify for an exemption – for example, $12,240 for a family of five.  However this maximum fee will only impact the small number of high-income taxpayers who choose to go without health insurance. The payment amount is based on each individual’s personal circumstances; examples and information about figuring the payment can be found on our Calculating the Payment page on IRS.gov/aca.

More Information

Find out more about the tax-related provisions of the health care law at IRS.gov/aca.

Find out more about the health care law at HealthCare.gov.