What to Do if a Taxpayer Loses or Did Not Receive Form 1095-A

Any individual who obtained their health insurance through the federal or a state Marketplace should receive a Form 1095-A (Health Insurance Marketplace Statement).

If a taxpayer who was supposed to receive a Form 1095-A for Tax Year 2014 either lost it or did not receive it, they can do one of the following:

• Log-in to their account on the website of the Federal or the State Marketplace they obtained their health insurance from and see if their Form 1095-A is available as a PDF.
• If their Form 1095-A is available, then they can print it out
• If their Form 1095-A is not available, they will need to call the applicable Marketplace and have the Marketplace mail them a replacement copy
• Call the Federal or State Marketplace and have a replacement copy mailed to them

See the Health Insurance Marketplace page on irs.gov for a listing of contact information for the Federal and State Marketplaces.

IRS Update: Affordable Care Act and the 2014 Federal Return

As the beginning of the 2014 filing season is upon us, now is the time to emphasize the importance of the Form 1095-A for taxpayers that received an advance premium tax credit (subsidy) in 2014, as well as remind everyone of how the Affordable Care Act will affect all 2014 federal returns.

Importance of Form 1095-A (Health Insurance Marketplace Statement) for Individuals Who Received an Advance Premium Tax Credit (Subsidy)

For individuals who received an advance premium tax credit (subsidy) that reduced their monthly health insurance premiums, it is necessary to have the Form 1095-A in order to complete the Form 8962 (Premium Tax Credit) because it contains the information that is needed to both calculate the premium tax credit and complete the reconciliation of the subsidy with the calculated credit.

Since the filing season begins on January 20, 2015, and a large number of the individuals who received a subsidy will not receive their copy of the Form 1095-A until the first week of February, tax preparers should not complete and file a return of an individual who obtained their health insurance through a Marketplace until they have received a copy of the Form 1095-A – allowing them to complete and include Form 8962 with the return. Read More

All Individual Federal Returns Will Be Affected by the Affordable Care Act

Everyone who files a 2014 federal tax return will be affected in one of the following ways by the Affordable Care Act:

• Most individuals will only have to check the Full Year Coverage box on Form 1040 since they were covered by their employer, government program (such as Medicaid or Medicare), or private insurance purchased outside of Marketplace for all of 2014.
• Taxpayers who obtained their health insurance at the federal or a state marketplace will:
• Receive Form 1095-A (Health Insurance Marketplace Statement) from the federal or state Marketplace around January 31, 2015;
• Complete Form 8962 (Premium Tax Credit) to claim the Premium Tax Credit and, if they received an advance premium tax credit (subsidy), complete the required reconciliation.
• Read More

Click here to read the entire CrossLink Tax Update on how the Affordable Care Act affects 2014 Tax Returns.

IRS Update: Reminders for Upcoming 2015 Filing Season

As the January 20 start date for the 2015 filing season draws near, it is important to review the IRS Identity Protection PIN program and the new IRS direct deposit limit.

Identity Protection PIN

For the upcoming filing season the IRS will issue 1.7 million Identity Protection PINs (IP PIN) to individuals who have had an identity theft indicator applied to their IRS tax account.

These are the key items to know about the Identity Protection PIN:

• If a taxpayer received an IP PIN last year they should have received a new 6-digit IP PIN from the IRS in December via IRS notice CP01A.
• If a taxpayer received an IP PIN, the taxpayer and spouse must enter their IP PIN on their 2014 federal return or the IRS will reject the return.
• Read More

New IRS Direct Deposit Limits

Beginning this filing season, the IRS will be limiting the number of refunds that may be electronically deposited into a single financial account or pre-paid debit card to three (3).

Any subsequent deposits will be automatically converted to a paper refund check and mailed to the taxpayer at the address shown on the federal return... Read More

Click here to read the entire CrossLink Tax Update on reminders for the 2015 Filing Season.

BREAKING: IRS Announces Start Dates for 2015 Filing Season

Today, the IRS announced that the start of the 2015 filing season will be as follows:

Individual returns (1040): Tuesday, January 20, 2015

Business returns (Corporate, S-Corp and Partnership): Friday, January 9, 2015

See the Tax Season Opens As Planned Following Extenders Legislation news release on the IRS website for more information.

Federal Tax Provisions Extended for One Year

On December 16, 2014, Congress finished passing legislation that extended, for one year, virtually all of the provisions that had expired at the end of 2013. The bill HR 5771 will become law once the President signs it.

Here is a list of some of the provisions that are now applicable for Tax Year 2014 returns:

• $250 Educator Expense Deduction – Form 1040, line 23
• Tuition and Fees Deduction – Form 8917
• Itemized Deduction for Sales Tax – Schedule A
• 50% Bonus Depreciation
• Exclusion of gain from income for foreclosed home mortgage debt (Form 982)
• Section 179 Deduction:
• Maximum Amount: $200,000
• Maximum Cost: $2,000,000
• Qualified Real property category which includes leasehold improvements, restaurant property and retail property with a maximum deduction of $250,000
• Qualified Real Property
• 15 year straight line depreciation allowed for qualified leasehold restaurant and retail improvements
• Tax-free distributions from IRAs for charitable purposes
• Nonbusiness energy property tax credit on Form 5695
• Contributions of capital gain real property made for conservation purposes (50% limitation applies instead of 30% limitation)

For a complete listing of the individual and business provisions that were extended for 2014 only, as well as changes related to the Affordable Care Act and other reminders, see the Things to Know for the Current Tax Year page on the Crosslink Tax website.