HealthCare.gov Sends Corrected Tax Forms

The Obama administration said Friday it's making progress trying to correct a tax-form error that affected 820,000 customers of HealthCare.gov.

Credit HealthCare.gov

Administration officials said 740,000 corrected forms have gone out to consumers in the federal insurance marketplace, and another 80,000 will be mailed next week.

Health officials say thousands of consumers are still waiting to receive a corrected tax form detailing the amount of subsidies they received to help pay their monthly premiums.

This form is a big deal in Florida, where more people signed up using HealthCare.gov than in any other state.

State-run insurance exchanges, including Covered California, have also sent forms with incorrect information to some customers. The Treasury Department announced Friday that taxpayers who got incorrect information from state exchanges won't be required to submit corrected returns if they have already filed their taxes.

"So any individual who has enrolled in marketplace coverage, and who received an incorrect form 1095-A, and who filed his or her tax return, will not need to file an amended tax return.," said Mark Mazur, assistant secretary for tax policy with the U.S. Treasury Department. "The IRS will not pursue the collection of additional taxes from these individuals based upon any updated information or corrected forms."

Treasury had previously offered the same leeway for consumers in the 37 states served by HealthCare.gov, the federal marketplace. The Treasury action amounts to a reprieve from paperwork headaches for early tax filers.

The issue involves a new government form called a 1095-A.

It's like a W-2 form for health care for people who got subsidized private insurance under President Barack Obama's law. Consumers who got health insurance tax credits need the information on the 1095-A to file their taxes.

Last month, federal officials said more than 800,000 consumers had gotten the wrong details on premiums.

HealthCare.gov CEO Kevin Counihan said some customers may still have other errors on their forms, like the wrong coverage dates. He urged them to call HealthCare.gov at 800-318-2596.

Counihan estimated that 3 percent to 4 percent of customers may have some of these other errors on their 1095-A forms. That translates to between 120,000 and 160,000 households.

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