Tax

The Affordable Care Act requires applicable large employers (ALEs) to file information reporting returns with the IRS and employees. ALEs are generally those employers with 50 or more full-time employees, including full-time equivalent employees in the preceding calendar year.

The vast majority of employers are not ALEs and are not subject to this health care tax provision. However, those who are must use Form 1094-C, Transmittal of Employer-Provided Health Insurance Offer and Coverage Information Returns, and Form 1095-C, Employer-Provided Health Insurance Offer and Coverage, to report the information about offers of health coverage and enrollment in health coverage for their employees.

Here are eight things ALEs should know about the information returns they must file at the beginning of 2016.

1. Form 1095-C is used to report information about each employee who was a full-time employee of the ALE member for any month of the calendar year.

2. Form 1094-C must be used to report to the IRS summary information for each employer, and to transmit Forms 1095-C to the IRS.

3. ALEs file a separate Form 1095-C for each of its full-time employees, and a transmittal on Form 1094-C for all of the returns filed for a given calendar year.

4. Employers that offer employer-sponsored self-insured coverage use Form 1095-C to report information to the IRS and to employees about individuals who have minimum essential coverage under the employer plan.

5. The information reported on Form 1094-C, and Form 1095-C is used in determining whether an employer owes a payment under the employer shared responsibility provisions.

6. Form 1095-C is used by the IRS and the employee in determining the eligibility of the employee for the premium tax credit.

7. An ALE may satisfy this requirement by filing a substitute form, but the substitute form must include all of the information required on Form 1094-C and Form 1095-C and satisfy all form and content requirements as specified by the IRS.

8. Forms 1094-C and 1095-C, or a substitute form must be filed regardless of whether the ALE member offers coverage, or the employee enrolls in any coverage offered.

Questions?

If you have any questions regarding information reporting and health coverage, please call.

• By Leon Clinton
• January 23, 2016

When you enroll in coverage through the Marketplace during Open Season, which runs through Jan. 31, 2016, you can choose to have monthly advance credit payments sent directly to your insurer. If you get the benefit of advance credit payments in any amount, or if you plan to claim the premium tax credit, you must file a federal income tax return and use Form 8962.

Form 8962, Premium Tax Credit (PTC), reconciles the amount of advance credit payments made on your behalf with the amount of your actual premium tax credit. You must file an income tax return for this purpose even if you are otherwise not required to file a return.

Here are four things to know about advance payments of the premium tax credit:

• If the premium tax credit computed on your return is more than the advance credit payments made on your behalf during the year, the difference will increase your refund or lower the amount of tax you owe. This will be reported in the ‘Payments’ section of Form 1040.
• If the advance credit payments are more than the amount of the premium tax credit you are allowed, you will add all or a portion of the excess advance credit payments made on your behalf to your tax liability by entering it in the ‘Tax and Credits’ section of your tax return. This will result in either a smaller refund or a larger balance due.
• If advance credit payments are made on behalf of you or an individual in your family, and you do not file a tax return, you will not be eligible for advance credit payments or cost-sharing reductions to help pay for your Marketplace health insurance coverage in future years.
• The amount of excess advance credit payments that you are required to repay may be limited based on your household income and filing status.

If your household income is 400 percent or more of the applicable federal poverty line, you will have to repay all of the advance credit payments. Repayment limits by household income as a percentage of the federal poverty line are listed below.

Repayment Limitation

If your household income is less than 200 percent of the Federal Poverty Line, the limitation amount is $300 for single filers and $600 for all other filing statuses.

If your household income is at least 200 percent, but less than 300 percent of the Federal Poverty Line the limitation amount is $750 for single filers and $1,500 for all other filing statuses.

If your household income is at least 300 percent, but less than 400 percent of the Federal Poverty Line the limitation amount is $1,250 for single filers and $2,500 for all other filing statuses.

If your household income is more than 400 percent of the Federal Poverty Line, there is no limitation amount for any filing status.

If you have any questions, don’t hesitate to call the office.

• By Leon Clinton
• January 20, 2016

More than 50 tax provisions, including the tax rate schedules, and other tax changes are adjusted for inflation in 2016. Let’s take a look at the ones most likely to affect taxpayers like you.

The tax rate of 39.6 percent affects singles whose income exceeds $415,050 ($466,950 for married taxpayers filing a joint return), up from $413,200 and $464,850, respectively. The other marginal rates–10, 15, 25, 28, 33 and 35 percent–and related income tax thresholds–are found at IRS.gov.

The standard deduction remains at $6,300 for singles and married persons filing separate returns and $12,600 for married couples filing jointly. The standard deduction for heads of household rises to $9,300, up from $9,250.

The limitation for itemized deductions to be claimed on tax year 2016 returns of individuals begins with incomes of $259,400 or more ($311,300 for married couples filing jointly).

The personal exemption for tax year 2016 rises to $4,050, up from the 2015 exemption of $4,000. However, the exemption is subject to a phase-out that begins with adjusted gross incomes of $259,400 ($311,300 for married couples filing jointly). It phases out completely at $381,900 ($433,800 for married couples filing jointly.)

The Alternative Minimum Tax exemption amount for tax year 2016 is $53,900 and begins to phase out at $119,700 ($83,800, for married couples filing jointly for whom the exemption begins to phase out at $159,700). The 2015 exemption amount was $53,600 ($83,400 for married couples filing jointly). For tax year 2016, the 28 percent tax rate applies to taxpayers with taxable incomes above $186,300 ($93,150 for married individuals filing separately).

For 2016, the maximum Earned Income Credit amount is $6,269 for taxpayers filing jointly who have 3 or more qualifying children, up from a total of $6,242 for tax year 2015. The revenue procedure has a table providing maximum credit amounts for other categories, income thresholds and phase-outs.

Estates of decedents who die during 2016 have a basic exclusion amount of $5,450,000, up from a total of $5,430,000 for estates of decedents who died in 2015.

For 2016, the exclusion from tax on a gift to a spouse who is not a U.S. citizen is $148,000, up from $147,000 for 2015.

For 2016, the foreign earned income exclusion rises to $101,300, up from $100,800 in 2015.

The annual exclusion for gifts remains at $14,000 for 2016.

The annual dollar limit on employee contributions to employer-sponsored healthcare flexible spending arrangements (FSA) remains at $2,550.

Under the small business health care tax credit, the maximum credit is phased out based on the employer’s number of full-time equivalent employees in excess of 10 and the employer’s average annual wages in excess of $25,900 for tax year 2016, up from $25,800 for 2015.

Need help with tax planning in 2016? Help is just a phone call away!

• By Leon Clinton
• January 17, 2016