Drafts of 2014 IRS Tax Forms Are Available

[Which Roger]

I haven't dug through these yet, but a whole slew of drafts of 2014 tax forms have been made available by the IRS in the past few days. The series of 1095 forms may be of particular interest to a lot of us, as they seem to be ACA-related. I'll dig deeper and share what I learn; others please do the same.

Draft Tax Forms

 

[Which Roger]

Form 8962 "Premium Tax Credit" is the one used to reconcile ACA subsidies.

http://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-dft/f8962--dft.pdf

 

[M Paquette]

Eh... I'll just wait for the final forms before I go to all of the work to figure out that I don't owe anything.

I'm prioritizing more important tasks. There are cats to be petted, and clouds to watch. And I'm pretty sure there are still country roads I haven't driven down.


(I just caught a WSJ article on taxes and the worst states to retire in. Mine was listed as #1, with the author quoting our top bracket tax rates. Yah. I'll be concerned about that bracket when I see myself earning over a million a year in retirement. My EFFECTIVE combined Federal and State tax rate is a negative number, and my effective state tax rate alone is under 1%.)

 

[Which Roger]

And important parts are still missing. Form 8962, line 2a, is where MAGI is entered. It says "see instructions", but the instructions are not yet available.

 

[jebmke]

I won't be doing my 2014 taxes for over a year. I can wait. That reminds me. Still need to do my 2013 taxes.

 

[Htown Harry]

There is a new set of forms - 1094's and 1095's - where employers and insurers report to the IRS and the taxpayer various details of insurance coverage. Details here:

Implementing Health Reform: Tax Form Instructions – Health Affairs Blog

the form 1095-A (instructions here) will be provided by the exchanges to each individual who has individual coverage through the exchange, including household members. The form will include total monthly premiums for the recipient and family members, monthly advance premium tax credits, and premiums for the second-lowest-cost silver benchmark plan. Individuals will use the information provided by the 1095-A for establishing compliance with the individual responsibility requirement and for reconciling premium tax credits received with those properly owed.

 

[sengsational]

I would like to run my 2014 federal in December so I can get the ACA and Roth conversions tuned. Do Block and TT make the programs available that soon? I usually owe, or have a small refund, so am not in a hurry. TThis year, though, running a test in 2014 seems like a good idea.

 

[MichaelB]

Thanks for the links to the draft tax forms. They shouldn't be a challenge to anyone capable of doing his or her own taxes, and the tax SW programs should have no difficulty. My guess is Turbotax will add this to the more expensive versions.

It'll be a good year for tax preparers and SW...

 

[meierlde]

I would like to run my 2014 federal in December so I can get the ACA and Roth conversions tuned. Do Block and TT make the programs available that soon? I usually owe, or have a small refund, so am not in a hurry. TThis year, though, running a test in 2014 seems like a good idea.

If you get on the repeat order program Turbo Tax shows up around Thanksgiving or a bit earlier. Of course there are revisions online after that.

 

[LOL!]

Yep, TT is usually available by Thanksgiving.

A prelim run of the year's tax return is a Thanksgiving tradition in our household. It allows us to adjust tax withholding for the December paychecks. Generally, the mutual fund companies have some kind of estimate for the year-end distributions by then as well.

 

[scrabbler1]

Thanks for the link, Which Roger. I had been wondering about what these forms would like for quite a while. It looks like the key new forms are 1095-A and 8962.

There are a few key items missing for now such as the federal poverty level and SLCSP (along with how MAGI is determined). I may have the SLCSP from when I enrolled with the NY Marketplace or maybe it is still in their website.

It is good to see how this ties into Form 1040 although I would like to know how the ACA subsidy ties into any estimated tax penalty for underpayment.

I did not request any advance premium subisdy payment which should simplify things for me.

ETA: Also, it doesn't appear the ACA subsidy counts against any Schedule A premiums paid.

 

[pb4uski]

This article indicates that the IRS has issued drafts of instructions to go along with many of the new Obamacare forms.

IRS Issues New Instructions for Obamacare

 

[scrabbler1]

Pb4uski, thanks for the update.

It is still confusing as to figuring out the subsid because the SLCSP (Second Lowest Cost Silver Plan) seems to be a moving target, based on my conversation with an agent from my NY Marketplace. It turns out that the (unsubsidized) premium I was charged was based on the estimated 2014 income (MAGI) I provided when I applied in late 2013. This means the SLCSP is also based on that same MAGI. So, on federal tax form 8962, which MAGI do I use when figuring out the SLCSP? Do I use the one which corresponds to the actual 2014 MAGI or the estimated 2014 MAGI which corresponds to the premium I have been paying all year? Seems like it should be the first one but I am not sure.

 

[gozer]

Pb4uski, thanks for the update.

It is still confusing as to figuring out the subsid because the SLCSP (Second Lowest Cost Silver Plan) seems to be a moving target, based on my conversation with an agent from my NY Marketplace. It turns out that the (unsubsidized) premium I was charged was based on the estimated 2014 income (MAGI) I provided when I applied in late 2013. This means the SLCSP is also based on that same MAGI. So, on federal tax form 8962, which MAGI do I use when figuring out the SLCSP? Do I use the one which corresponds to the actual 2014 MAGI or the estimated 2014 MAGI which corresponds to the premium I have been paying all year? Seems like it should be the first one but I am not sure.

It would be the actual MAGI. If anything changes during the year you are supposed to update the marketplace. Basically you are supposed to try and adjust your estimate towards reality as the year passes. This will change you payment during the year if you did the advance credit. When it's all done, actual is what counts.

 

[pb4uski]

Why would the 2014 SLCSP be a moving target? It was known when the exchange opened on Oct 1, 2013. The SLCSP isn't dependent on MAGI since it is the unsubsidized premium.

As I recall, the subsidy will be based on your applicable SLCSP less your 2014 actual MAGI multiplied by the appropriate % applicable to that level of MAGI. The idea is that the government pays the difference between what the statute says you "should" pay based on your MAGI and the SLCSP. If you chose a more or less expensive plan you pay/benefit from the difference because the subsidy is fixed no matter what plan you chose.

Mind you, I haven't waded through all the forms, but that is the way it is supposed to work.

 

[gozer]

Why would the 2014 SLCSP be a moving target? It was known when the exchange opened on Oct 1, 2013. The SLCSP isn't dependent on MAGI since it is the unsubsidized premium.

That I am not sure about. While income changes, I wouldn't think which plans are available would.

 

[scrabbler1]

Ugh, I have been seeing different premiums for my plan in my home county for one, single adult from different lists and tables which came out last year versus this year. I can't even replicate the monthly (unsubsidized) premium I have been paying the whole year, including what I have seen in the online NY Marketplace's calculator. (My monthly, unsubsidized premium has been slightly lower, so if there has been an error it has been in my favor, yay.) This led me to believe, incorrectly, that the SLCSP is a moving target. It may have been a moving target at one point but not due to my MAGI. As I changed the MAGI in the online calculator, the monthly (unsubsidized) premium did not change, only the subsidy. So, I have no idea how my current premium was determined LOL!

I then wonder if any premium increase (on a percentage basis) will be applied to what I am paying now or what I "should" have been paying in 2014.

 

[pb4uski]

....I then wonder if any premium increase (on a percentage basis) will be applied to what I am paying now or what I "should" have been paying in 2014.

No need for a premiums increase adjustment as I understand it. The SLCSP would be the second lowest cost silver plan for you for 2014 based on actual approved premiums so no adjustment should be necessary. That will then be compared with a certain percentage of your actual 2014 MAGI to get the subsidy you are entitled to for 2014. Any difference between the subsidy you are entitled to for 2014 and the advance premium credits that you actually received for 2014 will be included as additional tax or refund as the case may be.

Healthcare.cov has a database of SLCSP but it doesn't cover states with their own exchanges. The NY exchange should be able to provide that to you.

 

[scrabbler1]

No need for a premiums increase adjustment as I understand it. The SLCSP would be the second lowest cost silver plan for you for 2014 based on actual approved premiums so no adjustment should be necessary. That will then be compared with a certain percentage of your actual 2014 MAGI to get the subsidy you are entitled to for 2014. Any difference between the subsidy you are entitled to for 2014 and the advance premium credits that you actually received for 2014 will be included as additional tax or refund as the case may be.

Healthcare.cov has a database of SLCSP but it doesn't cover states with their own exchanges. The NY exchange should be able to provide that to you.

It will end up that way as you pointed out but only because my HI company will become the 6th lowest Silver plan in 2015 (it was third lowest in 2014), according to the 2015 version of the NY Marketplace's online calculator. If by some chance it became the second lowest Silver plan (which was not an outrageous possibility) then its premium would become the new benchmark for determining the subsidy.

Because I choose to not have any advance premium subsidy, I will pay a little more every month but my net taxes due will drop with the larger subsidy when I file my 2015 tax return in early 2016, as you alluded to.