Obamacare exempts millions--prisoners, illegals, welfare recipients

October 31, 2012 | 11:50 am
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Washington Secrets

The Washington Examiner

@SecretsBedard

Mock Obamacare tax form from critic Americans for Tax Reform.

In just 14 months, Americans will be required to prove that they have federally "qualified" health insurance or face an Obamacare tax of $695 to $2,085. That is unless you are in prison, below the poverty line, or are an undocumented immigrant, according to the anti-tax group Americans for Tax Reform.
When added together, those three groups total up to one-sixth of the nation's population of 314 million: 218,929 are in federal prisons, 12 million are illegals and 42 million are below the poverty line and eligible for welfare, though some fit into all three categories, according to federal reports.
ATR highlighted the groups eligible from the mandate to get health insurance in a mock Internal Revenue Service form they developed to show the extra paperwork Americans will be required to fill out once the full Obamacare law kicks in, January 2014. It is based on testimony from the IRS given in September that said, "taxpayers will file their tax returns reporting their health insurance coverage, and/or making a payment."
Based on other IRS requirements, ATR said that Americans will have to show that they have health insurance "qualified" by the Department of Health and Human Services. They will also have to disclose if they were covered by a qualifying plan during the year and for how long. And they could be subject to penalties and interest on unpaid Obamacare taxes for periods they were not covered.
Their mock form includes groups qualifying for exemptions from the Obamacare health insurance mandate and tax. "Classes of individuals who are exempt from the mandate include but are not limited to: those serving sentences in the federal penitentiary system; those persons not legally able to work in the U.S.; welfare recipients (since they are below the poverty line); and those qualifying for an HHS-granted religious exemption," said ATR, citing section 1501 of the Affordable Care Act that also exempts many others, including native Americans.
The anti-tax group had some fun with the mock tax form, calling theirs "Form OBMA."

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http://www.healthcare.gov/law/resources/authorities/title/i-quality-affordable-health-care.pdf

IRS Tax Form for Obamacare Individual Mandate

Our projected IRS form assists 140 million Americans in their obligation to disclose personal identifying health information and calculate the IRS tax penalty.

As a service to the public, Americans for Tax Reform has released a projected tax form to help families and tax specialists prepare for the additional filing requirement of the Affordable Care Act's individual mandate provision.
Starting in 2014, all Americans who file income tax returns must complete an additional IRS tax form. The new form requires disclosure of a taxpayer’s personal identifying health information in order to determine compliance with the Affordable Care Act’s individual mandate.  As confirmed by IRS testimony to the tax-writing House Committee on Ways and Means, “taxpayers will file their tax returns reporting their health insurance coverage, and/or making a payment”.
You may download a PDF file of the form and instructions here or view it below.
Highlights from the Obamacare Individual Mandate Tax Compliance Form:
1.  Determination of “qualifying” health insurance.  Under the Affordable Care Act,  most Americans must purchase health insurance deemed “qualified” by the Department of Health and Human Services  (HHS) starting in 2014.  Failure to comply with this mandate results in a tax penalty which must be paid to the IRS. The tax penalty ranges from $695 to $2085, or more, depending on the size of a family.  The dollar amount grows over time and is tabulated on the form. Taxpayers must demonstrate that they obtained qualifying health insurance for each month of the year in order to avoid payment of this tax penalty. [See lines 12-13]
2.  Disclosure of personal identifying health information.  Every family that files a tax return (140 million households) will have to disclose whether or not they were covered by a qualifying plan, in which months they were covered, and what type of coverage they received.  Tax filers must also divulge and disclose their personal health ID number, the nature of their health insurance, and other information from their health insurance card as further IRS regulations warrant.  [See lines 3-4]
3.  Exemptions from Individual Mandate: Prisoners, Undocumented Immigrants, Welfare Recipients. The form also determines which individuals are exempt from the Individual Mandate and non-compliance taxes. Classes of individuals who are exempt from the mandate include but are not limited to: those serving sentences in the federal penitentiary system; those persons not legally able to work in the U.S.; welfare recipients; and those qualifying for an HHS-granted religious exemption.  [See lines 8-11]
4.  IRS penalties and interest on unpaid mandate taxes.  Because the Affordable Care Act’s individual mandate penalty is a tax, the IRS will be able to assess interest and non-criminal penalties on those families who will not or cannot pay the tax. The IRS will issue regular, periodic correspondence audits to these families to help them comply with their filing responsibilities.