Do I have to sign up for Obamacare?
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October 2, 2013 |
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Attorney Tom
Bushnell |
"I have a lot of people asking me if they have
to enroll and if so when and if I don't what
will happen," said Boundary County attorney Tom
Bushnell. "Attached please find a little
analysis I did on the possible exemptions to the
penalty associated with the Affordable Care Act
AKA Obamacare."
Generally under 26 USC § 5000A(a) you will have
to either purchase health care coverage
beginning in January of 2014 or face a penalty
(Chief Justice John Roberts has called this a
"tax."). However there are ways to get around
this penalty.
Here are a few options for you. I have chosen
option number 6 below.
1. If you are a dependent (as defined in section
152) of another taxpayer. Of course, if that
other taxpayer doesn't purchase health care
insurance for you they will face the penalty.
(See 26 USC § 5000A(b)(3)(A).
2. If you are in jail. Hey, at least you get
three squares and a place to sleep. (See 26 USC
§ 5000A(d)(4).
3. Be in the country illegally. (See 26 USC §
5000A(d)(3).
4. If you "cannot afford coverage" under 26 USC
§ 5000A(e)(1)(A)
(A) In general: Any applicable individual for any month if
the applicable individual’s required
contribution (determined on an annual basis) for
coverage for the month exceeds 8 percent of such
individual’s household income for the taxable
year described in section 1412(b)(1)(B) of the
Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act. For
purposes of applying this subparagraph, the
taxpayer’s household income shall be increased
by any exclusion from gross income for any
portion of the required contribution made
through a salary reduction arrangement.
You got that? Good, neither did I.
5. Join an Amish or Mennonite Church and then
opt out of Social Security (See 26 USC §
5000A(d)(2)(A).
6. Become a member of a Health care sharing
ministry (See 26 USC § 5000A(d)(2)(B).
(B) Health care sharing ministry:
(i) In general Such term shall not include any individual for
any month if such individual is a member of a
health care sharing ministry for the month.
(ii) Health care sharing ministry The term “health care
sharing ministry” means an organization—
(I) which is described in
section 501 (c)(3) and is exempt from taxation
under section 501 (a),
(II) members of which share a common
set of ethical or religious beliefs and share
medical expenses among members in accordance
with those beliefs and without regard to the
State in which a member resides or is employed,
(III) members of which retain
membership even after they develop a medical
condition,
(IV) which (or a predecessor of
which) has been in existence at all times since
December 31, 1999, and medical expenses of its
members have been shared continuously and
without interruption since at least December 31,
1999, and
(V) which conducts an annual audit
which is performed by an independent certified
public accounting firm in accordance with
generally accepted accounting principles and
which is made available to the public upon
request.
(This information has been provided by
Thomas A. Bushnell, Attorney at Law. It is
provided for informational purposes only and not
meant to be legal advice. Further no
Attorney-Client relationship is established
through providing this information. Thomas A.
Bushnell is a General Practice Attorney in
Bonners Ferry, Idaho. If you need legal
assistance in Boundary County, Idaho, you may
contact Tom at
Thomasabushnell@gmail.com.) |
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