{"id":14537,"date":"2017-04-15T12:54:38","date_gmt":"2017-04-15T16:54:38","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/philip.greenspun.com\/blog\/?p=14537"},"modified":"2017-04-15T12:54:38","modified_gmt":"2017-04-15T16:54:38","slug":"obamacare-gets-the-irs-into-the-domestic-abuse-evaluation-business","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/philip.greenspun.com\/blog\/2017\/04\/15\/obamacare-gets-the-irs-into-the-domestic-abuse-evaluation-business\/","title":{"rendered":"Obamacare gets the IRS into the domestic abuse evaluation business"},"content":{"rendered":"

The typical U.S. state offers at least two courthouses for people claiming domestic violence: criminal and family courts (see “The Domestic Violence Parallel Track”<\/a>). There is also a federal domestic violence bureaucracy, set up for the\u00a0Violence Against Women Act<\/a>, e.g., to grant Green Cards based on claims of domestic violence. While doing taxes this year my accountant’s Obamacare section (a full page of questions out of a 29-page questionnaire) asks “If you received advance premium tax credit or enrolled in coverage through the Marketplace, are married, and are filing separately from your spouse, are you a victim of domestic abuse or spousal abandonment?”<\/p>\n

The IRS’s FAQ on this corner of Obamacare<\/a>\u00a0explains that victimhood is a self-certified matter, but subject to ultimate evaluation by an IRS employee:<\/p>\n

To certify that you are a victim of domestic abuse or spousal abandonment and qualify for relief from the joint return filing requirement, you should check the box at the top of Form 8962, Premium Tax Credit (PTC), which you will use to claim the credit. You should not attach documentation of the abuse or abandonment to your tax return, but should keep any documentation you may have with your tax return records. For examples of what documentation to keep, see Publication 974, Premium Tax Credit<\/a> (PTC) [this is a 74-page PDF]. Taxpayers may claim this relief from the joint filing requirement for no more than three consecutive years. For more information on this relief, see the instructions to Form 8962, Premium Tax Credit (PTC).<\/p>\n

Domestic abuse includes physical, psychological, sexual, or emotional abuse, including efforts to control, isolate, humiliate, and intimidate, or to undermine the victim\u2019s ability to reason independently. All the facts and circumstances are considered in determining whether an individual is abused, including the effects of alcohol or drug abuse by the victim\u2019s spouse. Depending on the facts and circumstances, abuse of the victim\u2019s child or other family member living in the household may constitute abuse of the victim.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

What does the 74-page Publication 974 say? Taxpayers\u00a0can keep a “Doctor\u2019s report or letter” or “A statement from someone who was aware of, or who witnessed, the abuse or the results of the abuse”.<\/p>\n

What else bulks up this 29-page questionnaire?<\/p>\n