Four Reasons You Might Choose to Amend Your Tax Return

IRS Health Care Tax Tip 2015-82, December 15, 2015

When filing tax returns earlier this year, some taxpayers might have paid more than they were required to pay. Some of these taxpayers miscalculated their individual shared responsibility payment and simply paid too much. Others were actually not required to pay anything at all, because they were exempt from the Affordable Care Act’s requirement to have coverage.

If you did not claim an exemption from the coverage requirement you were eligible for, or you overpaid the individual shared responsibility payment when you filed your 2014 tax return, you can fix it by filing an amended return. Review your exemption eligibility and your original individual shared responsibility payment calculation to determine if you need to make a change to your 2014 tax return.

Here are four examples of when you may choose to amend your return if you paid the individual shared responsibility payment:

You were exempt from the individual shared responsibility payment. For example, you reported income that is below the 2014 tax filing requirement, or you could claim a coverage exemption for yourself or other members of your household.
You were not required to make an individual shared responsibility payment because someone claimed you as a dependent on a tax return. However, the person who claimed you as a dependent might be responsible for the payment if you did not have health coverage and did not qualify for an exemption.
You reported a larger individual shared responsibility payment than required. For information about how to properly compute the individual shared responsibility payment, visit IRS.gov/aca.
You made an error in the individual shared responsibility payment calculation. In some cases, you may be due a refund after your amended return is processed.

If you need to file an amended return, use Form 1040-X, Amended Return. You should complete and attach Form 8965, Health Coverage Exemptions to the amended return.

If you need to recalculate your individual shared responsibility payment, use the worksheets included in the instructions to Form 8965, Health Coverage Exemptions, to figure the individual shared responsibility payment amount due. The Individual Shared Responsibility Payment Estimator can help you estimate the individual shared responsibility payment amount.

Some taxpayers who need help with preparing amended tax returns may qualify for Low Income Taxpayer Clinic assistance.