IRS Finalizes Premium Tax Credit Rules Virtually Unchanged

On July 24, 2017, the Internal Revenue Service finalized proposed and temporary regulations governing Affordable Care Act (ACA) premium tax credits that had been issued in July of 2014. Except for one minor technical change, the 2014 proposed and temporary rules are adopted unchanged. The temporary regulations were apparently about ready to expire. The preamble to the regulation rejects a number of suggestions to extend the earlier rules, but does so in a calm and reasonable manner that is almost jarring given the current inflamed rhetoric surrounding the ACA. Until the ACA is amended, it is still the law of the land and the IRS is going to make it work. Spousal Abandonment And Domestic Violence Several of the rule’s provisions address situations involving spousal abandonment or domestic violence. The ACA requires married couples to file a joint return as a condition of receiving premium tax credits. This is often not possible, however, if one of the spouses is a victim of domestic violence or has been abandoned by the other spouse, who cannot be located. In accordance with the earlier temporary rules, the final regulations allow married victims of domestic abuse or spousal abandonment to claim a premium tax credit without filing a joint return if the taxpayer files a married-filing-separately tax return and the taxpayer (i) is living apart from his or her spouse at the time of filing the return, (ii) is unable to file a joint return because of the domestic violence or aban...
Source: Health Affairs Blog - Category: Health Management Authors: Tags: Following the ACA Insurance and Coverage Source Type: blogs