The newest and most informative web site online right now is www.HealthCare.gov easy to read, easy to navigate web site for health care for Americans. We strongly suggest that you click on over to www.HealthCare.gov and learn more about the new health care options.
Open Enrollment for the Health Insurance Marketplace: The open enrollment period to purchase health care coverage through the new Health Insurance Marketplace begins Oct. 1, 2013. When you get health insurance through the marketplace, you may be able to get the new advance Premium Tax Credit that will immediately help lower your monthly premium. Learn more at HealthCare.gov.
The Affordable Care Act, or health care law, contains new health insurance coverage and financial assistance options for individuals and families. The IRS will administer the tax provisions included in the law. Visit HealthCare.gov for more information on coverage options and financial assistance.
Showing posts with label law. Show all posts
Showing posts with label law. Show all posts
Monday, August 19, 2013
Thursday, January 31, 2013
Information on the Obama Care, Glitch
WASHINGTON — Some families could get priced out of health insurance due to what's being called a glitch in President Barack Obama's overhaul law. IRS regulations issued Wednesday failed to fix the problem as liberal backers of the president's plan had hoped.
As a result, some families that can't afford the employer coverage that they are offered on the job will not be able to get financial assistance from the government to buy private health insurance on their own. How many people will be affected is unclear.
The Obama administration says its hands were tied by the way Congress wrote the law. Officials said the administration tried to mitigate the impact. Families that can't get coverage because of the glitch will not face a tax penalty for remaining uninsured, the IRS rules said.
"This is a very significant problem, and we have urged that it be fixed," said Ron Pollack, executive director of Families USA, an advocacy group that supported the overhaul from its early days. "It is clear that the only way this can be fixed is through legislation and not the regulatory process."
But there's not much hope for an immediate fix from Congress, since the House is controlled by Republicans who would still like to see the whole law repealed.
The affordability glitch is one of a series of problems coming into sharper focus as the law moves to full implementation.
Starting Oct. 1, many middle-class uninsured will be able to sign up for government-subsidized private coverage through new health care marketplaces known as exchanges. Coverage will be effective Jan. 1. Low-income people will be steered to expanded safety-net programs. At the same time, virtually all Americans will be required to carry health insurance, either through an employer, a government program, or by buying their own plan.
Bruce Lesley, president of First Focus, an advocacy group for children, cited estimates that close to 500,000 children could remain uninsured because of the glitch. "The children's community is disappointed by the administration's decision to deny access to coverage for children based on a bogus definition of affordability," Lesley said in a statement.
The problem seems to be the way the law defined affordable.
Congress said affordable coverage can't cost more than 9.5 percent of family income. People with coverage the law considers affordable cannot get subsidies to go into the new insurance markets. The purpose of that restriction was to prevent a stampede away from employer coverage.
Congress went on to say that what counts as affordable is keyed to the cost of self-only coverage offered to an individual worker, not his or her family. A typical workplace plan costs about $5,600 for an individual worker. But the cost of family coverage is nearly three times higher, about $15,700, according to the Kaiser Family Foundation.
So if the employer isn't willing to chip in for family premiums – as most big companies already do – some families will be out of luck. They may not be able to afford the full premium on their own, and they'd be locked out of the subsidies in the health care overhaul law.
Employers are relieved that the Obama administration didn't try to put the cost of providing family coverage on them.
"They are bound by the law and cannot extend further than what the law provides," said Neil Trautwein, a vice president of the National Retail Federation.
As a result, some families that can't afford the employer coverage that they are offered on the job will not be able to get financial assistance from the government to buy private health insurance on their own. How many people will be affected is unclear.
The Obama administration says its hands were tied by the way Congress wrote the law. Officials said the administration tried to mitigate the impact. Families that can't get coverage because of the glitch will not face a tax penalty for remaining uninsured, the IRS rules said.
"This is a very significant problem, and we have urged that it be fixed," said Ron Pollack, executive director of Families USA, an advocacy group that supported the overhaul from its early days. "It is clear that the only way this can be fixed is through legislation and not the regulatory process."
But there's not much hope for an immediate fix from Congress, since the House is controlled by Republicans who would still like to see the whole law repealed.
The affordability glitch is one of a series of problems coming into sharper focus as the law moves to full implementation.
Starting Oct. 1, many middle-class uninsured will be able to sign up for government-subsidized private coverage through new health care marketplaces known as exchanges. Coverage will be effective Jan. 1. Low-income people will be steered to expanded safety-net programs. At the same time, virtually all Americans will be required to carry health insurance, either through an employer, a government program, or by buying their own plan.
Bruce Lesley, president of First Focus, an advocacy group for children, cited estimates that close to 500,000 children could remain uninsured because of the glitch. "The children's community is disappointed by the administration's decision to deny access to coverage for children based on a bogus definition of affordability," Lesley said in a statement.
The problem seems to be the way the law defined affordable.
Congress went on to say that what counts as affordable is keyed to the cost of self-only coverage offered to an individual worker, not his or her family. A typical workplace plan costs about $5,600 for an individual worker. But the cost of family coverage is nearly three times higher, about $15,700, according to the Kaiser Family Foundation.
So if the employer isn't willing to chip in for family premiums – as most big companies already do – some families will be out of luck. They may not be able to afford the full premium on their own, and they'd be locked out of the subsidies in the health care overhaul law.
Employers are relieved that the Obama administration didn't try to put the cost of providing family coverage on them.
"They are bound by the law and cannot extend further than what the law provides," said Neil Trautwein, a vice president of the National Retail Federation.
Wednesday, June 27, 2012
The IRS Is Deeply Concerned and So are Tax Professionals
.
What is happening is hundreds of thousands of tax professionals who must pass the IRS's new RTRP Test in order to provide tax services for pay, have not done so. Most of us are thinking, no big deal we don't have to have to pass the test until December 31, 2013. True, but wrong. It is a seriously big deal.
What will happen is that there will be an average of 22,000 tax professionals trying to take the test each month, and there is not enough testing seats in order for all of us to take the test by the deadline.
I'm not sure what other tax professionals are doing, but I’m studying, after hours to make sure that I know each detail involved with each tax code. I'm not sure about the other tax professionals, but for over 12 years, I relied on the professional tax software to remember the hundreds of new tax laws which were voted on by Congress each year.
I fully realized that taxes is actually tax law, which is made up of tax codes.
I spent my time focusing on tax planning, legal tax loopholes, positive cash
flow for tax payers and the articles which I write for online circulation. I
studied the necessary tax codes to be correct in the articles, but relied on the
professional software when working. (In the State of California, you have to attend classes every year in order to renew your tax certification – so we can usually look
at a return and tell if the software make an error)
The test is open book, but there are 120 questions and there is not enough time to look up answers if you don't know them off the top of your head. Tax Law is complicated at best. Taking this test is no joke for any of us. We must buckle down and learn the exact formulas, codes and conditions for every major tax law involving personal income tax returns.
Below you will find the beginning of an article which was sent out by TaxPro. It explains the IRS's concerns and shares provides information state by state:
------------
Among IRS-supplied testing totals reported in various states: continue article
What is happening is hundreds of thousands of tax professionals who must pass the IRS's new RTRP Test in order to provide tax services for pay, have not done so. Most of us are thinking, no big deal we don't have to have to pass the test until December 31, 2013. True, but wrong. It is a seriously big deal.
What will happen is that there will be an average of 22,000 tax professionals trying to take the test each month, and there is not enough testing seats in order for all of us to take the test by the deadline.
I'm not sure what other tax professionals are doing, but I’m studying, after hours to make sure that I know each detail involved with each tax code. I'm not sure about the other tax professionals, but for over 12 years, I relied on the professional tax software to remember the hundreds of new tax laws which were voted on by Congress each year.
I fully realized that taxes is actually tax law, which is made up of tax codes.
The test is open book, but there are 120 questions and there is not enough time to look up answers if you don't know them off the top of your head. Tax Law is complicated at best. Taking this test is no joke for any of us. We must buckle down and learn the exact formulas, codes and conditions for every major tax law involving personal income tax returns.
Below you will find the beginning of an article which was sent out by TaxPro. It explains the IRS's concerns and shares provides information state by state:
------------
All non-exempt paid tax return preparers must, among other requirements, pass the one-time open-book test by Dec. 31, 2013. Totals reported recently reveal that an average of less than 1 percent of paid tax preparers who need to take the Registered Tax Return Preparer test have passed it so far -- lending weight to IRS warnings that preparers who wait until the last minute to schedule their tests risk running headlong into overbooked exam centers.
Among IRS-supplied testing totals reported in various states: continue article
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
