CMS posts PPACA tax tips

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) has posted two fliers about how the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA) may affect consumers’ 2014 income taxes.

One flier, aimed at people who have PPACA public exchange plan coverage, features a smiling man in a purple jacket.

In that flier, CMS advises consumers to look for Form 1095-A in the mail. Form 1095-A is the form an exchange is supposed to give information about members of a household who used exchange coverage in 2014, the amount of monthly premiums the household members paid for coverage, the benchmark premium level used to compute any premium tax credits, and the amount of PPACA premium tax credit money paid to exchange plans on the household members’ behalf.

Officials note that people who went through life changes in 2014 or live in households with more than one exchange policy might get more than one Form 1095-A.

Officials say consumers who had no coverage for part of the year will need to fill out Form 8965. “This will show if you qualify for an exemption from paying a fee for the months you didn’t have coverage,” officials say.