Americans need to report their health insurance status on their 2013 tax returns, but many don’t realize this. In matter of fact, a survey revealed that 48% of Americans are not even aware that they have to report their health insurance status on their returns.
2015 is going to be the first year that Americans will need to prove that they have qualifying insurance. If they don’t have qualifying insurance, then they will be faced with a tax penalty. Many Americans also don’t realize that the deadline they need to meet in order to avoid the penalty has already passed. Health insurance that has been bought during the current enrollment period will apply to 2016 filed returns.
56 percent of those without insurance were not aware of the fact that those who are uninsured need to meet criteria before they qualify for an exemption from Obamacare taxes.
Almost half of Americans don’t know that there are credits that can help make health insurance more affordable to families with low-to-moderate income.
TurboTax 2014 software and TurboTax services can help Americans understand how the Affordable Care Act relates to their situation. TurboTax is the best online tax preparation service around, and they have developed TurboTaxHealth.com, which is designed for those seeking resources relating to the Affordable Care Act. It can help Americans determine if they qualify for a health insurance plan that doesn’t cost a lot of money, as well as help people figure out if they qualify for an exemption from the tax penalty.
There were other key findings in the survey, which included that 9 out of 10 Americans do have health insurance. Also, Americans who live in southern states are less likely to have coverage than those living in any other regions.
Almost 75% of Americans plan on renewing their health care plan, which they bought via the Health Insurance Marketplace last year, for next year. Also, those who purchased via the Marketplace during the first enrollment periods are likely to know about tax credits than those who are in other insured groups.
Those who are covered by the insurance plan their parents have, are less likely to know about tax penalties than those who are covered via their employer’s insurance.
The Methodology
The surveys were done by Harris Poll, and it was on behalf of TurboTax. The surveys were also conducted online, and it was done between November 6-10 and 13-17, 2014. Everyone who participated in the survey were ages 18 or older. However, theoretical sampling error cannot be calculated because the surveys were not designed to be based on a probability sample.