Health Care Marketplace Enrollees Who Don’t File Federal Taxes Risk Losing Subsidies

A navigator group that helps people enroll for health coverage sold on the federal marketplace in Wisconsin is reminding people to file tax returns for 2014 or risk losing subsidies next year.

Earlier this summer, IRS officials sent a letter to Congress, updating lawmakers on this year’s tax filing season as it relates to President Barack Obama’s health care law.

Nationally, 40 percent of those getting federal help paying for premiums haven’t provided enough information to the government to get subsidies in the future. Even if a person doesn’t owe anything, they still have to verify their income so subsidy amounts are correct. Danielle Coterel with Covering Kids & Families in Milwaukee said Affordable Care Act enrollees need make sure they have the correct tax paperwork.

“So there’s a handful of consumers that have not filed returns,” said Coterel. “There’s a handful of consumers who need to send in additional verification items to the IRS and then there’s another percentage who have filed for an extension but still have not completed their returns.”

In Wisconsin, about 170,000 people received tax credits to reduce cost of health coverage purchased on the federal marketplace. It’s not known how many of those in Wisconsin have filed tax returns, as required. The IRS says nationally, 1.8 million consumers could be at risk of losing their tax credits.