In a press release revealed today, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) announced its efforts to provides American consumers with the ability to claim a hardship exemption from the tax penalty imposed by the ACA (Obamacare) for not maintaining health coverage for 2018 on their federal income tax returns, making it easier for taxpayers across the nation to claim their exemption.
According to this excerpt from the press release:
This new option to claim a hardship exemption through the federal tax filing process responds to President Trump’s first Executive Order, where he directed agencies to minimize the unwarranted economic and regulatory burdens of the PPACA. The President’s Executive Order directs agencies to exercise all authority and discretion available to them to grant exemptions from PPACA requirements that would impose a financial burden on individuals and families. Today’s announcement also follows the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, which reduced the individual mandate penalty to $0 for months beginning on or after January 1, 2019.
“Today’s announcement shows how President Trump’s Administration is working to ease the burden of Obamacare.” said CMS Administrator Seema Verma. “Although the tax cuts signed by the President earlier this year eliminate the mandate penalty starting in 2019, Americans are still under threat of the penalty for this tax year of 2018. This guidance will simplify how consumers claim the hardship exemption from the individual mandate directly on their tax return.”
