Affordable Care Act (ACA) and Federal Income Tax Filing Requirements

Officially known as the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, the ACA requires all Americans to have qualifying health insurance for the full tax year.

As part of the ACA's shared responsibility provision, PPC will provide IRS Forms 1095-B (to retirees and annuitants and former spouses) and 1095-C (to military members) beginning tax year 2015 for PPC customers enrolled in TRICARE healthcare insurance programs.

As the payroll provider for your department, PPC is required to report healthcare coverage beginning with tax year 2015. The information provided to the IRS will be supplied to you (IRS Form 1095-B and/or 1095-C) on or before Jan. 31, 2016.

PPC will provide retirees and annuitants and former spouses Form 1095-B and military members Form1095-C.

More information is available from the IRS.

Your forms will be mailed to your mailing address on record. PPC will mail healthcare related IRS forms in time to arrive no later than March 31, 2016, for the 2015 tax year. They will also be available via Direct Access Self Service. See How to View and Print Your ACA/1095 Form to learn how to access the forms.

If you enrolled in coverage through the Marketplace you will need the information on Form 1095-A to complete Form 8962 to reconcile any advance payments of the premium tax credit or claim the premium tax credit, and to file a complete and accurate tax return. If you need a copy of your Form 1095-A, you should go to HealthCare.gov or your state Marketplace website and log into your Marketplace account, or call your Marketplace call center. Although information from the Form 1095-C – information about an offer of employer provided coverage - can assist you in determining eligibility for the premium tax credit, it is not necessary to have Form 1095-C to file your return. See Publication 974 for additional information on claiming the premium tax credit.

You do not have to wait for either Form 1095-B or 1095-C from your coverage provider or employer to file your individual income tax return.  You can use other forms of documentation, in lieu of the Form 1095 information returns to prepare your tax return. Other forms of documentation that would provide proof of your insurance coverage include:

• insurance cards,
• explanation of benefits
• statements from your insurer,
• W-2 or payroll statements reflecting health insurance deductions,
• records of advance payments of the premium tax credit and
• other statements indicating that you, or a member of your family, had health care coverage.

If you and your entire family were covered for the entire year, you may check the full-year coverage box on your return. If you or your family members did not have coverage for one or more months of the calendar year, you may claim an exemption or make an individual shared responsibility payment.

You will not need to send the IRS proof of your health coverage. However, you should keep any documentation with your other tax records. This includes records of your family’s employer-provided coverage, premiums paid, and type of coverage.

For military members, you will receive a 1095-C to cover your period of active duty and a 1095-B to cover those months as a retiree.

How do I request a replacement of my 1095 form from PPC?

Please click on the tab for your category (Active, Reservist, Retiree and Annuitants) for instructions on how to request a replacement from.

As a payroll service provider, PPC cannot provide guidance on filing your taxes. Consult a professional tax advisor for assistance.

As of January 2014, the Individual Shared Responsibility (ISR) provision calls for individuals to have qualifying health care coverage known as Minimum Essential Coverage (MEC) for each month of the year; qualify for an exemption; or make a payment when filing his or her federal income tax return.

The provision applies to individuals of all ages, including children. Individuals who do not have qualifying minimum essential coverage and do not qualify for an exemption will need to make an individual shared responsibility payment for each month they do not have adequate coverage. The fee will be collected when tax returns are filed.

For more information on Individual Shared Responsibility, visit the IRS ACA Individual Shared Responsibility Provision web page.

Effective Jan. 1, 2015, under the Employer Shared Responsibility (ESR) provision, certain Applicable Large Employers (ALE) must offer either minimum essential coverage (MEC) that is "affordable" and that provides "minimum value" to their full-time employees or potentially make an ESR payment to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS).

The same employers subject to ESR provisions also have information reporting responsibilities regarding MEC offered to employees. These responsibilities require employers to send reports to employees and the IRS using the new forms that the IRS created for this purpose.

An employer (including federal employers) who averages at least 50 full-time employees (including full-time-equivalent employees) during the preceding calendar year are subject to the ESR provisions and reporting responsibilities.

• Applicable Large Employers (ALE) must report to the IRS information about health care coverage, if any, they offered to employees.
• ALEs must furnish to employees a statement that includes the same information provided to the IRS.

Based on these requirements, Pay & Personnel Center (PPC) will issue IRS Forms 1095-B (for military retirees and annuitants, and former spouses) and 1095-C (for military members ) to the IRS and each employee to report tax year 2015 health care coverage information.

Each additional health insurance agency will report the additional coverage offered under their plan to the Internal Revenue Service and provide you with an IRS 1095-C form.

Most types of TRICARE coverage count as MEC. Get more info on TRICARE's minimum essential coverage.

PPC will mail forms no later than March 31, 2016, for the 2015 tax year.

No. The 1095-B and/or 1095-C forms are used only to enter the proper information on the tax return. Keep the document for your records.

If using a tax professional, show them the 1095-B/C forms, and then keep it for your records.

For information concerning tax related issues, visit the IRS for more information.

A. If the minimum essential coverage information is not correct on your IRS series 1095-B or 1095-C form, call the DMDC Support Office at (800) 642-1386.

Inform the customer service representative that you have an Affordable Care Act (ACA) form with incorrect coverage information. The representative will verify coverage information and provide guidance to fix the issue..

A: If a covered family member is missing from your form, contact your nearest military ID facility to confirm whether your family member is registered in DEERS. If not, you must register your family member at a military ID card facility.

To locate the nearest military ID card facility, visit the RAPIDS site locator Web site. See its Required Documents tab for additional information.

After registering your family member in DEERS, you will need to request a corrected IRS Affordable Care Act (ACA) 1095-B or 1095-C form. After February 1, 2016 you may either:

• Sign into milConnect, go to the Correspondence/Documentation menu, and select ACA – Corrected IRS Form, or
• Contact the DMDC Support Office at (800) 642-1386.

***Your DEERS data must be corrected prior to requesting a new form.***

If you have not received the corrected form within 7-10 business days from your request of the form, contact your Pay Center.

MilConnect Accounts for DEERS Information

All Coast Guard members (retired or active duty, each of their family members, can access milconnect (https://www.dmdc.osd.mil/milconnect/) and are encouraged to establish a user ID and password for important information regarding DEERS information. The DMDC (Defense Manpower Data Center) manages the website and you can obtain assistance by calling 1-800-538-9552 and select option 5.

If your question is not listed above, visit the list Affordable Care Act Frequently Asked Questions on the milConnect website.