first year taxes MFJ effect on obamacare eligibility?

[Mag&Chef 17]

Hi.

1-My husband (US citizen) and I got a financial help for healthcare coverage for 2015 and enrolled for 2016 with my husband's 2015 income,

now we got a letter from health care marketplace to send document proving the income for both of us for 2015.

since I had zero US income, and I will fill Married filing jointly, with filing form 2555 Ez to ask for foreign income exemption and elect to be treated as us resident for year 2015, do you thing guys that they (healthcare) will count total income (mine and my husband's income) or just my husband's income for eligibility?

2- should I put gross income or net after tax when filing jointly?

thank you so much for your help as usual.

[Mag&Chef 17]

Hi.

1-My husband (US citizen) and I got a financial help for healthcare coverage for 2015 and enrolled for 2016 with my husband's 2015 income,

now we got a letter from health care marketplace to send document proving the income for both of us for 2015.

since I had zero US income, and I will fill Married filing jointly, with filing form 2555 Ez to ask for foreign income exemption and elect to be treated as us resident for year 2015, do you thing guys that they (healthcare) will count total income (mine and my husband's income) or just my husband's income for eligibility?

2- should I put gross income or net after tax when filing jointly?

thank you so much for your help as usual.

any help please.....

[MariaR323 199]

I'll preface by saying this whole Obamacare Marketplace policy was (IMO) not completely thought out and has confused sooo many people.

Ok, first off, if you receive assistance through Marketplace then that is a Premium Tax Credit you are taking in advance for that year and it will be reconciled when you file that year's tax return.

Usually when they ask to verify income is because when you applied for Marketplace coverage you might have reported a lower household income than they could verify in their data sources. When you report income you report Gross income, before any taxes and/or deductions/credits. Marketplace savings are based on expected household income for 2016, not last year’s income. That is where sometimes problems arise because the income level changes.

So first off try to file your 2015 tax return as soon as possible. It is important to be as accurate as you can be when predicting your income. If you under‐estimate your income on your application, you may receive more financial help than you should and will pay all or part of it back when you file your taxes next year. The amount you would owe depends on what your final income turns out to be.

[Mag&Chef 17]

I'll preface by saying this whole Obamacare Marketplace policy was (IMO) not completely thought out and has confused sooo many people.

Ok, first off, if you receive assistance through Marketplace then that is a Premium Tax Credit you are taking in advance for that year and it will be reconciled when you file that year's tax return.

Usually when they ask to verify income is because when you applied for Marketplace coverage you might have reported a lower household income than they could verify in their data sources. When you report income you report Gross income, before any taxes and/or deductions/credits. Marketplace savings are based on expected household income for 2016, not last year’s income. That is where sometimes problems arise because the income level changes.

So first off try to file your 2015 tax return as soon as possible. It is important to be as accurate as you can be when predicting your income. If you under‐estimate your income on your application, you may receive more financial help than you should and will pay all or part of it back when you file your taxes next year. The amount you would owe depends on what your final income turns out to be.

Thank you for answering.

I agree, its really confusing. yes we gave all the paper to the accountant yesterday and we will wait.

from one side, we fill MFJ is good to save money, but from another side we get screwed because the income is higher so we pay more for health insurance,

I'm not sure about the fact that they will use my foreign income to count the family final income, or since I'm using the 2555 EZ form (exemption) they will count only my husband income for 2015?

[Villanelle 4,122]

https://www.healthcare.gov/income-and-household-information/income/

Excluded untaxed foreign income is still counted as income. (And why wouldnt it be? Its still income- the tax exclusion is so you dont pay tax twice)

[Mag&Chef 17]

https://www.healthcare.gov/income-and-household-information/income/

Excluded untaxed foreign income is still counted as income. (And why wouldnt it be? Its still income- the tax exclusion is so you dont pay tax twice)

Thank for the link.

yes I agree it's an income, but it was on 2015, and now I'm not working since I came to U.S.A, on October 2015

but they clearly explain in the page you provide:

• Marketplace savings are based on your expected household income for 2016, not last year’s income. You must make your best estimate so you qualify for the right amount of savings.

Thanks!!!

[Villanelle 4,122]

Im glad things are more clear now. Another thought- since your spouse got help in 2015 did you include your income for that year? If you took more credit then you were suppose to get you pay it back on your taxes. If you took less you get the credit on your taxes.

[Mag&Chef 17]

Im glad things are more clear now. Another thought- since your spouse got help in 2015 did you include your income for that year? If you took more credit then you were suppose to get you pay it back on your taxes. If you took less you get the credit on your taxes.

both of us got financial help, because we enrolled in obamacare on october 2015, (my husband's insurance stopped on september 2015).

yes we included my foreign income for 2015, but since we used the exemption, and married Filing jointly, this helped a lot and finally we got a nice taxable income, will not hurt us, we overestimate household income for 2015, thanks god.

Edited February 2, 2016 by Mag&Chef