Obamacare means that more people have to file tax returns?

by philg

A friend who is close to 65 and retired, but not collecting Social Security, earns less than $10,150 per year. Therefore she should not have to file an income tax return under IRS regulations. However, to purchase health insurance through the Massachusetts-run Obamacare exchange they need proof of what her income actually is. After about 15 phone calls to figure out why she couldn’t buy health insurance, the answer seems to be that she must file a tax return showing $0 in income. Then she will become eligible to purchase insurance at the government-established rate.

Is this true in all states or is it something unique to Massachusetts? If so, what’s the meaning of the IRS filing threshold? Won’t all Americans now have to file tax returns?

6 thoughts on “Obamacare means that more people have to file tax returns?”

  1. The form letter from the national health insurance marketplace allows people to submit a variety of documents to prove income, including a statement from Social Security.

    As to proving the absence of other income, the IRS had (at least until recently a “Certificate of Non-Filing”.

  2. The link is broken, but I think your friend needs this:
    irs.gov/Individuals/Verification-of-Nonfiling-Letter

  5. I don’t know … but this entire ACA program was “designed” by people who thought it was a good idea that every business or self-employed person would be required to send a 1099 to every company they bought something worth $600 from. (That laptop you were considering in a previous post? If it was for self-employment purposes you would have needed to send a 1099 to Best Buy.)

    Given that, it’s more than plausible that at least some exchanges will accept nothing less than a state or federal income tax return to prove income, no matter how low (or nonexistent) the income.

    (Plus, isn’t it outrageous it took your friend 15 phone calls to get this interesting piece of information?)

  6. We know now that the government is tracking your cell phone, your emails, your license plates, etc. so why not your income too? Technology has made it possible for the government of a supposedly free country to have knowledge of your activities at all times far beyond anything Stalin could have dreamed of.

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