As many Americans are still preparing their taxes before the April 18th deadline, please make sure that you have your 1095 (federal) & 3895 (state) tax forms and provide them to your tax preparer as they are required to complete your taxes. In California, there is a tax penalty for not having minimum essential health coverage. You will need these tax forms to prove you had minimum essential coverage. The California tax penalty for not having health insurance is $800 per adult, $400 per child dependent, or 2.5% of your income, whichever is higher.
If you accepted premium tax credits through Covered CA in 2021, you will have to reconcile your 1040 tax return with the 8962 tax form to see if you accepted too much or too little in premium tax credits in 2021. The COVID-19 pandemic made it especially challenging for many Americans to estimate their 2021 modified adjusted gross income which is used to estimate premium tax credits for the year. If you under or overestimated your 2021 modified adjusted gross income on your Covered CA application, you will use the federal 8962 tax form to see if you accepted too little or too much in federal premium tax credits. You will also complete the 3849 to adjust any state tax credits accepted listed on your state 3895.
If you underreported your income, you will have to pay back some or all of the tax credits accepted depending on your realized modified adjusted gross income. If you overreported your income, you may receive a tax credit at tax time. Once you have completed your taxes, please review line 11 of your 1040 tax return to see your adjusted gross income. If you expect your 2022 income to be similar to 2021, please use line 11 of your 2021 tax return to best estimate your 2022 premium tax credits, if eligible.
If you have not received your 1095-A or 3895 tax forms from Covered CA, please contact us as we can forward them to you via email. If you recently started paying the tax penalty for not having health insurance in 2021, you may be eligible to apply for health insurance during the Special Enrollment Period. New to 2022, anyone who has started paying the tax penalty for not having health insurance for the 2021 tax year is eligible to apply within a 60-day window for health insurance. Please contact us at 310-909-6135 to go over your insurance options. At Solid Health Insurance Services, we strive to help our clients find the right health, dental, vision, life, and long-term care insurance which best fits their budget and medical needs.
