Taxpayers Need Not Be Alarmed by Recent Arrival of Form 1095-C

VIRGINIA BEACH, VA--(Marketwired - Apr 7, 2016) - Liberty Tax, Inc. (NASDAQ: TAX)

Employees who already have filed their taxes may be alarmed by the tax forms arriving recently in their mailboxes. The Form 1095-C is a reference document that is not required to file your taxes, advises Liberty Tax. Taxpayers receiving Form 1095-C do not need to amend their tax return.

"Confusion remains with the Affordable Care Act and its tax implications," said Chuck Lovelace, Vice President of the Affordable Care Act for Liberty Tax. "But taxpayers just now receiving Form 1095-C need not worry about refiling their taxes."

Form 1095-C, Employer-Provided Health Insurance Offer and Coverage, is arriving now because the IRS gave large employers until March 31 to deliver the forms to their employees. The form provides information about coverage the employer offered and whether or not the employee chose to participate. Form 1095-C should be kept along with other tax records, but it is not required to file the 2015 federal income tax return.

Form 1095-A, Health Insurance Marketplace Statement, on the other hand is necessary for tax preparation. Taxpayers who enrolled in a health insurance plan through the Marketplace will receive Form 1095-A. The information on that form is used to complete Form 8962, Premium Tax Credit, which must be filed with the 2015 federal income tax return. Taxpayers who received tax credits and fail to include Form 8962 with their tax return may jeopardize those subsidies for health insurance premiums.

The IRS recently sent letters to taxpayers who failed to include Form 8962 when they filed their 2015 federal income tax return. The letter advises them to complete Form 8962 and submit it, along with copies of Form 1095-A and a corrected second page from their tax return that reconciles their tax credit. They do not need to file an amended tax return.

Last tax season almost 2 million taxpayers who had received tax credits found their payments jeopardized because they failed to include Form 8962, had not filed their taxes by the deadline, or they had requested a six-month extension to file their tax return.

Liberty Tax can assist taxpayers who are unsure of their tax requirements under the Affordable Care Act, also known as Obamacare. Taxpayers can learn more about the requirements at our blog The Ultimate Breakdown of Form 1095. Liberty Tax provides ACA information and resources at its health insurance website healthcaretaxinfo.com. Liberty has made the merger of health insurance and taxes a seamless process for consumers from beginning to end.

About Liberty Tax, Inc.
Founded in 1997 by CEO John T. Hewitt, Liberty Tax, Inc. (NASDAQ: TAX) is the parent company of Liberty Tax Service. Liberty Tax is one of the fastest-growing tax preparation franchises and has prepared almost 20 million individual income tax returns in more than 4,300 offices and online. Liberty Tax's online services are available through eSmart Tax, Liberty Online and DIY Tax, and are all backed by the tax professionals at Liberty Tax locations and its nationwide network of approximately 35,000 seasonal tax preparers. Liberty Tax also supports local communities with fundraising endeavors and contributes as a national sponsor for many charitable causes. For a more in-depth look, visit Liberty Tax Service and interact with Liberty Tax on Twitter and Facebook.