New tax forms sent out for Obamacare

IRS implores people not to ignore or lose essential paperwork

As we shift into the new year, we’re gearing up for an onslaught of paperwork that is essential for filing your 2014 tax return.

One new piece of paper: Form 1095-A, the Health Insurance Marketplace Statement. If you obtained coverage under Obamacare last year, you need Form 1095-A to file your tax return.

The Internal Revenue Service will begin accepting tax returns electronically as of Jan. 20 and begin processing paper returns at that same time.

Top of the list of papers not to toss: any form 1099, any W-2, and new forms related to the Affordable Care Act. THE AFFORDABLE CARE ACT If you bought health insurance through the Marketplace for 2014, you want to keep an eye out for Form 1095-A, which should be sent out by the end of January.

Consumers will receive their 1095-A from the Marketplace in the mail, and it will be posted to their online HealthCare.gov account during tax-filing season, according to Aaron Albright, director of the media relations group for the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services.

“We will be doing robust outreach to consumers during tax season to explain how taxes and health care intersect, and steps consumers can take to prepare for the coming tax season,” Albright said.

This is the first time taxpayers will be sent the 1095-A. Big unknowns: Will the systems work? Will taxpayers ignore the new forms and somehow lose them?

Form 1095-A reports the total monthly premiums paid to the insurance company you selected through the Marketplace. It also details the advance payments of the premium tax credit that were paid to your insurance company.

If Form 1095-A is lost, never shows up, or is wrong, taxpayers must contact their Marketplace directly. Taxpayers can get information on how to reach the Marketplace on HealthCare.gov and IRS.gov/aca.

Think of this new tax form, Form 1095-A, much like a W-2 that you’d get from an employer or a 1099 that you’d get from a bank. Much like those forms, the Marketplace reports the 1095-A information to the IRS. So you want to make sure your tax return matches up.

Luis Garcia, spokesman for the IRS, said because a third party provides Form 1095-A, you’d need to go to the health insurance Marketplace to get a copy if the form is lost or there are mistakes. The IRS is not going to be able to answer questions about the information on Form 1095-A or about missing or lost forms.

The IRS recently released a new 21-page publication on how the Affordable Care Act affects taxes. It’s IRS Publication 5187, “Health Care Law: What’s New for Individuals & Families.” THE 1099S Are you a Baby Boomer who just started collecting Social Security in 2014? The Social Security Administration’s SSA-1099 can be misplaced, some tax preparers say, because that form can be sent before the taxpayer even starts thinking about 1040 returns.

Form SSA-1099 is sent in January to those receiving Social Security benefits. It shows total benefits for the previous year.

If you lost the form or did not receive it, you can request a replacement online beginning Feb. 1 at ssa.gov. Or you could call 800772-1213 or contact the local Social Security office.

Also, 1099s can be sent for gambling winnings, self-employment or subcontractor income, and interest and dividends on investments.

Mark Steber, chief tax officer for Jackson Hewitt Tax Service, said taxpayers sometimes do not realize that the 1099 is important. Or taxpayers move and do not give an address update to the bank or brokerage that might be sending a 1099.

Part-time jobs trip up taxpayers, too. Lisa Greene-Lewis, a certified public accountant for TurboTax, said people with side jobs sometimes forget about the paperwork. TurboTax software can auto-import W-2s from employers from more than a million companies. OTHER PAPERWORK Special life events create a string of important tax papers.

Buy a house? Make sure to keep the HUD-1, the closing statement you received when you bought and sold the house. If you refinanced a mortgage, you’d also have received the HUD-1 statement.

If you had a newborn, make sure to have the child’s Social Security card ready for tax time.

As early as it seems, it’s never too early to get a special folder for all the tax-related paperwork.