As 2014 draws near to its end, I have been doing what I can to make sure that all my financial records are in order. Part of that means making sure all my documents I will need for preparing my family’s taxes next April are all in one place! (Right now, that means all my receipts are thrown into a storage box in the basement — LOL.)

If you do your own taxes or take care of your famly’s taxes, you might be worried about how The Affordable Care Act (ACA) / Obamacare will affect your taxes.

Because The Affordable Care Act is designed to make sure that everyone has health insurance, 2014 is the first year Americans have to report their health care on their taxes in 2015.

I for one know how important it is to have health insurance! Last winter I slipped on the driveway while retrieving a garbage can and broke my wrist! I wound up having surgery and months of physical therapy. If I didn’t have health insurance, that fall would have cost my family thousands of dollars!

Make Tax Prep Easy

Luckily, with computer software like TurboTax, you won’t have to deal with ACA forms or pay more money to complete your 2014 taxes — you just answer the questions TurboTax asks you through the software, and be confident that you taxes are being done right.

For most folks  (9 out of 10 taxpayers), complying with ACA rules will just mean just checking a box on their tax returns to confirm that they have health insurance.

When it comes to ACA and taxes, it’s helpful to know which category you fall into:

• Those who have insurance through their employer, Medicaid, Medicare or a private provider.
• Those who are insured through healthcare.gov or their state exchange. These people will receive a 1095-A form from healthcare.gov or their state exchange. They will enter the info on this form on their taxes.
• Those who are uninsured should think about buying health insurance through open enrollment at healthcare.gov. (Open enrollment runs through February 15, 2015.) Some people may qualify for government assistance though premium tax credits and subsidies. Those who aren’t covered by insurance could pay a penalty of 1% of their income, or about $95 on their taxes. To find out out how much penalty you will have to pay, use the free calculator from TurboTax. However, some people may qualify for an exemption from this penalty. TurboTax Health has tools to help you determine if you qualify for an exemption.

If you have any questions about how the joining of health care and taxes will affect you, check out the helpful tools at  TurboTax Health! The website offers a healthful guide to everything you need to know about healthcare and taxes.

I was selected for this opportunity as a member of Clever Girls and the content and opinions expressed here are all my own.