What You Need to Know About Obamacare and Your Tax Returns

The Affordable Care Act (ACA), commonly known as "Obamacare", requires all U.S. citizens and legal residents to enroll in health insurance. The effects of the Obamacare program on American society is plain to see, but what about the potential effects on your taxes? Below are three of the most common ways the Affordable Care Act can affect your tax returns.

1. If you are penalized for failure to enroll in a health insurance plan, the penalty will be subtracted from your tax return. Generally speaking, the penalty is calculated by taking the higher of two calculations - either the penalty is $95 per adult in the household and $47.50 per child in the household or it is 1% of the family's overall household income. The IRS will use whichever formula produces a higher number to calculate your penalty.

2. Families are able to qualify for financial aid in order to purchase their health insurance, though their household incomes first must meet federal poverty level. If your family qualifies for financial aid, you will receive the funds through a tax credit. This refundable tax credit is called a "premium assistance credit" and is variable based on family income.

3. You can receive an advance subsidy in order to reduce your health insurance premiums. However, the subsidy is based on your estimated income, so be careful when you calculate your estimate. If your estimated income results in a larger subsidy than your actual credit, the difference will be collected through your tax return.

The Affordable Care Act Helps Your Small Business!

Recently, the Obama administration was able to pass the Affordable Care Act. The ACA is an extensive bill that will have a lot of positive effects on small business.
Here are some ways that the ACA will help you improve your small business:

1. Everyone knows that insurance can be incredibly expensive. Part of the aim of the ACA was the make healthcare more accessible to all types of people. Starting in 2013, a new program called SHOP (the Small Business Health Insurance Options Profram) will open Marketplaces where businesses can "shop" around for affordable health care programs. According to the U.S. Small Business Adminstration, small business pay on average 18% more than large businesses for health care. This gap should decrease by allowing businesses a place where they can compare and negotiate insurance prices.

2. The ACA also increases the available tax credit designed to help businesses with their health care expenses to up to 50% for those who participate in the Marketplace. Before the ACA, these businesses could only receive 35% in tax credits.

3. The ACA also created programs to improve the quality of care in the workplace. Under the act, workplaces receive increased rewards for instituting programs to help employees quit smoking or use a health-contingent plan.

4. With the ACA greatly increasing the number of people who have health insurance, small business on a whole will benefit by having healthier employees. Research shows that healthier employees are on average more productive employees. They take less time off from work and accomplish more when they are actually at work. Therefore, the ACA could provide a boost to the productivity of small businesses.

If you are a business owner and you have questions about how the ACA will impact your business, feel free to call my office at 718-313-7563.