Think Filing Taxes Was Tough Before Obamacare? Just Wait

Robert W. Wood for Forbes writes: The Affordable Care Act, aka Obamacare, is part health law, part tax law. Some feel benefited by the law, some burdened by it. And one’s perceptions about that can change over time. Either way, you may be annoyed by the extra forms and extra tax compliance, even if your tax bill doesn’t go up. The IRS has a far more important role in the law than you might think.

This year for the first time, the Affordable Care Act has created a trickier tax season. It is more expensive too, as virtually all Americans filing tax returns will have to consider the law’s impact on them and their taxes. There is likely to be considerable confusion this first year, and probably many mistakes. Yet many expect the IRS to be lax for a time. The agency is already stretched thin, and tax season looms large, especially this year.

A major feature of the law is a mandate requiring that most Americans must carry health insurance. In its simplest, that means you must state on your tax forms whether you have coverage. You also must say whether you got tax credits to help pay for it. If you did not have coverage in 2014 as required—and you are honest and say you didn’t—there’s a fine. Yet if you fail to pay it, many in the tax filing business think you may slide by without incident.

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