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Both parties unite to repeal Obamacare Provision

In a rare instance of unity in the House of Representatives, both parties voted overwhelmingly in favor of repealing a provision of Obamacare known as the “cadillac tax.” The vote was 419 to 6 to repeal this unpopular provision which would levy a 40% surcharge on employers for providing too much health insurance to their employees. This surcharge was supposed to help pay for the cost of Obamacare but the implementation has already been delayed until 2022 and now if it passes the senate and gets signed into law the provision will be gone for good.

There was a lot of opposition to this provision from unions and other employers who tried to attract the best employees by offering exceptional health insurance. If the cadillac tax is not repealed, it will be much more expensive for employers to be able to continue providing the kind of health care that there employees have been accustomed to receiving in recent years.

IRS Penalty Relief

Are you one of the over 800,000 taxpayers who received an incorrect 1095-A to file your taxes? IRS Notice 2015-30 offers penalty relief to those taxpayers who qualify that received incorrect or late 1095-A forms regarding their health insurance purchased through a federal exchange which caused errors on their 2014 tax returns.

Obamacare enrollment

What happens if you missed the enrollment deadline of February 15th to enroll in Obamacare for 2015? A new enrollment period has just been announced so that those who qualify can avoid the larger penalties imposed on those without health insurance in 2015. Click here for details of the announcement.

Obamacare Individual Mandate

Most taxpayers who do not have health insurance will be required to pay a fee for being uninsured. There are numerous hardship exemptions but they must be applied for and approved prior to filing your 2014 tax return. Upon approval, an exemption certificate number (ECN) will be issued which must be included in the 2014 tax return.  Instructions on how to apply, as well as a list of the Hardship Exemptions can be found here