New Healthcare Changes for Small Businesses

The Supreme Court recently settled a divided debate when it ruled that the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA) individual mandate is constitutional and that the “shared responsibility payment” is a tax. How will this affect you?

History

Beginning in 2014, the PPACA will require individuals to carry a minimum healthcare coverage for themselves and their dependents or they will have to pay a fee which is called a “shared responsibility payment.” Before the Supreme Court decision was made, the first definition stated the shared responsibility payment was a “penalty” for people who decided not to purchase health insurance under the required mandate. In this decision the Court decided that the mandate was constitutional because the payment was included in Congress’ immense power to tax. Therefore, the court decided that the required shared responsibility payment was indeed a tax.

How will this ruling affect you? If you have health insurance through a private provider or with Medicaid or Medicare, some unique groups, and individuals with low incomes will be exempt from the individual mandate. However, the Congressional Budget Office believes around 4 million U.S taxpayers will have to pay the mandate tax in 2014 when these provisions are executed. Most of these 4 million taxpayers are included in the 27 million small businesses in the United States. Due to the fact many small business owners are sometimes underinsured or uninsured. Therefore they will be a likely group that will be subject to the shared responsibility payment.

It seems that these added taxes could be quite substantial. The household income and family size will affect how much the taxpayer will owe. For example, when the mandate provision is fully implemented in 2016, the additional tax liability could be 2.5% of the family income or $695 for each uninsured adult, whichever is more, up to $12,500.

More on the Mandate Tax

Per the Supreme Court’s decision the shared responsibility payment will be a tax. Originally, the legislation labeled the individual mandate as a penalty. However, the Supreme Court did not want it to punishable by nature. However, one thing is certain: The IRS has the authority to assess and collect the tax.

It is still unknown how the IRS will administer the mandate tax. Usually the IRS sends notices to the taxpayers with unpaid balances. Then if the taxpayer does not pay the balance, the IRS transfers the account to collections, where they then can file liens and levies of wages, income, and certain financial accounts. However, it does seem the PPACA has given the IRS restricted authority on how it will collect the mandate tax.  Right now, under the current legislation, the IRS cannot send unpaid mandate tax balances to collection for enforcement, or can it issue liens or levies. The IRS will give out notices and offset refunds in order to collect the tax.

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