You don’t have to be poor to have your health insurance subsidized by government (or your employer for that matter). In fact, as you can see in the chart below, under the Affordable Care Act households earning above the national average are eligible for the tax credits. The tricky part for individuals who enroll through a marketplace plan is to accurately estimate their earnings in the next year. This process is one of the major flaws and unnecessary complexities of Obamacare.
When determining if beneficiaries will pay a income-based supplemental premium for Part B Medicare, the tax return from two prior years is used. It’s simple and automatic… and it works. In other words, your actual reported income for 2013 determines your Medicare premium for 2015. Contrast that with the need for individuals under Obamacare to prospectively estimate income for 2015 (and each year) with the risk of losing a tax credit retroactively or paying higher than necessary premiums for the entire year.
Learn more at healthcare.gov
Which income sources to include For each of the following sources, estimate what your income will be in 2015—the year for which you’re applying for insurance. If you’re not sure what your income will be, make your best estimate. (or suffer the consequences).
🔹 Wages
🔹 Salaries
🔹 Tips
🔹Net income from any self-employment or business (generally the amount of money you take in from your business minus your business expenses)
🔹Unemployment compensation
🔹 Social Security payments, including disability payments — but not Supplemental Security Income (SSI)
🔹 Alimony Other items to include when estimating your 2015 income are: retirement income, investment income, pension income, rental income, and other taxable income such as prizes, awards, and gambling winnings.
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