Essentially, this is telling you that if you have a federal penalty for not having required insurance coverage, you will receive a credit toward the Massachusetts penalty so that you will not be penalized twice.

Status:  Final Regulation;  Promulgation Date November 7, 2014.
Tax Type:  Personal Income Tax

Summary:  The regulation amends the Department’s regulation at 830 CMR 111.M.2.1, pertaining to the MA health insurance individual mandate.  Beginning January 1, 2014, the federal Affordable Care Act instituted a nation-wide mandate on individuals to obtain health insurance.  For tax years beginning on or after January 1, 2014, if a nonexempt individual fails to obtain health insurance meeting federal standards, the person is liable for a penalty termed the “shared responsibility payment” that must be reported on his or her federal income tax return.  The amendments to the regulation are found in sections 1 and 5 of the regulation, and provide guidance on the interaction of the MA individual mandate with the federal mandate to obtain health insurance. In particular, these amendments would create a credit against any MA health care penalty owed for the amount of any federal health care penalty, so as to prevent a pyramiding of the penalties. In addition, there is a technical correction to section 7.

This message brought to you by: Cormier & Rea, Inc. Sturbridge MA. Providers of Income tax planning and preparation and financial planning. For more information about this or any other issues regarding income tax planning or preparation or financial planning, feel free to contact us. Like Cormier & Rea, Inc. on Facebook for timely updates.