The monolithic Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2016, which became law December 18, changes the effective date of the Affordable Care Act’s so-called “Cadillac” tax. A key funding mechanism of the ACA is a 40 percent excise tax imposed on the cost of employer sponsored health coverage furnished to an employee that exceeds a statutory limit. Under the ACA, this tax becomes effective in 2018. However, after an intensive lobbying effort led by business and organized labor, Congress included a provision in the Appropriations Act that delays the effective date of the excise tax to 2020. The Appropriations Act also changes …
IRS Extends the ACA’s Form 1094 and Form 1095 Filing Deadlines
The IRS has unexpectedly extended the deadlines by which insurers and self-funded employers must provide health plan enrollment and coverage information to employees and the IRS under the Affordable Care Act. This is the information required to be reported on Forms 1094 and 1095. Notice 2016-4 issued December 28 extends the due dates: For providing to full-time employees the 2015 Form 1095-B and the 2015 Form 1095-C from February 1, 2016 to March 31, 2016; and For filing with the IRS the 2015 Form 1094-B, the 2015 Form 1095-B, the 2015 Form 1094-C, and the 2015 Form 1095-C from February …
Good News for Underwater Homeowners
A homeowner is considered to be “underwater” or “upside down” on their house if they owe more to the bank on their mortgage (or mortgages) than the value of the home. Some homeowners in this position are simply unable to sustain the expenses of retaining the home, and unable to continue making payments. There are options other than bankruptcy for those homeowners, but many of those options carry the threat of an increased income tax burden. For example, a homeowner may be able to obtain a mortgage modification that reduces the amount of the debt to match the value of …
New Rules Governing Adult Guardianships
In 2014, the Columbus Dispatch published a five-part investigative report highlighting guardianship abuse in Ohio. During the course of the series, the Dispatch identified lawyer Paul S. Kormanik as a Court appointed guardian of over 400 incompetent adults. Mr. Kormanik did not meet with his wards on a regular basis, if at all, and was quoted as saying that nursing homes acted as his eyes and ears. The series “Unguarded” uncovered a system that left the elderly, the mentally disabled, and the mentally ill vulnerable to abuse, exploitation, and neglect. In response to the series, the Ohio Supreme Court initiated …